CHECKPOINT
Sunday November 20, 2005 at 10pm ET/PT
repeating Saturday November 26, 2005 at 10pm ET/PT

Checkpoint was shot between 2001 & 2003 after the beginning of the second Intifadah (Palestinian uprising). The Oslo Accord peace talks had collapsed.

Violence and tension was escalating on both sides, and the number of suicide bombings and civilian casualties  were increasing.


Over two hundred military roadblocks were spread throughout the country.
Roadblocks that thousands of Palestinians and Israelis crossed every day as they made their way between the different areas: A, B and C- the terminology used to define control over the land. Each division represents a different category of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian Authority.

These roadblocks are the first meeting point between the two sides of the conflict, a crucial meeting point with rules and laws of its own.

CHECKPOINT documents the daily events that constitute the microcosm known as the Israeli military roadblock over an extended period of time. These roadblocks, essentially the first points of contact between the two peoples, have an enormous significance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

These anonymous, one-time encounters between both sides have a lasting political, social, and cultural effect. On the Israeli side, the almost unlimited position of power influences the shaping of the Israeli ethos and public persona. Young soldiers, still in their adolescence, find themselves faced with impossible situations. Reserve army soldiers, who just a day before were functioning as parents and spouses, wage earners and business owners, are faced with situations that their daily lives did not prepare them for. The cumulative effect of these day to day encounters, which is forced upon both sides, is unbearable.

Director's Statement:
On the other side, the day-to-day struggle and humiliation the Palestinians endure as they pass through the roadblock, fuels the hatred towards their Israeli neighbors. According to director, Yoav Shamir, much has been written about the corruption of the conqueror brought about by extended occupation, and still the daily reality of the roadblock illustrates this in shockingly tangible scenes. A pregnant woman on the way to the hospital, a Palestinian politician on his way to an important meeting, or just someone trying to get to work - the fact is that all of them have to go through roadblocks in order to reach their destinations.