Land of the Little People

Four kids from a village populated by the families of military officers form a small gang. When two deserter soldiers start using their playground of abandoned buildings as a hideout, the children become determined to regain control of their territory. Even if it means war.

“ ”

"With generous inspiration from “Lord of the Flies,” the film is a relentless and chilling depiction of a group of kids whose sense of play centers on brutality."
VARIETY

"A chilling political fairy tale for adults."
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"The boldest Israeli film I’ve seen this year."
FILMMAKER MAGAZINE

"A violent fairy tale exploring the social circumstances emerging from Israel's political situation."
CINEUROPA

Synopsis

Four young kids who live in a village of military officers families, form a small gang. An old abandoned army base, located in the surrounding wild fields, turns into their camp. Another war begins in Israel, and most men are drafted to serve their country. The mothers are sitting worried in front of the televisions and listen to the constant news reports, while the kids, with no one to supervise them, return to their camp in the wild. To their surprise, they discover two soldiers who deserted their units, using their camp as a hideout. The children try to regain control over their stolen territory, but the soldiers hold their grounds. Ruthless struggle develops between the groups, and the soldiers, who sought refuge from the war outside, find themselves in another war, which turns to be as dangerous and bloody.

Land of the Little People is an ambitious project by Palestinian film producer Tony Copti and Israeli director Yaniv Berman. Political and uncompromising in its social statement, the story touches at the very core of the Israeli inner conflict. Children growing up in a militaristic society with an everlasting war raging in the background know they have to toughen themselves in order to be prepared for when they are called to serve. Now these children are covered with two soldiers’ blood as their own private war rages in the woods while a “real” war rages in the outside world.

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Details

Director: Yaniv Berman
Genre: Drama
Original title: Medinat Hagamadim
English title: Land of the Little People
Country of production: Israel, Palestine
Year of production: 2016
Length: 83 min
Shooting format: 4K Raw Red Epic
Screening format: DCP
Original language: Hebrew

Subtitles: English
Cast: Maor Schweitzer, Ofer Hayun, Lior Rochman, Mishel Pruzansky, Amit Hechter, Ido Kestler
Scriptwriter: Yaniv Berman
Director of photography: Rami Katzav
Editor: Oz Guttman
Sound design: Michael Goorevich
Music: Gad Emile Zeitune
Producers: Tony Copti
Production company: Fresco Films

Film poster

Festivals / Awards

Shanghai International Film Festival – Asian New Talent competition – World Premiere
Silk Road Film Festival, China
Warsaw Film Festival, Poland
Rome Film Fest, Italy
Haifa International Film Festival, Israel
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia
Tbilisi International Film Festival – Silver Prometheus (Best Directing)
Bengaluru International Film Festival, India
Guadalajara IFF, Mexico
Phoenix Film Festival, USA – World Cinema Best Picture and World Cinema Best Director Awards
Zlín Film Festival, Czech Republic
Transilvania IFF, Romania
New Horizons IFF, Poland
Fantasy Filmfest, Germany
Boise Film Festival, USA – Best Feature Film
Arizona Underground Film Festival, USA
Buffalo Niagara Film Festival, USA
Tacoma Film Festival, USA
Bushwick Film Festival, USA
Santa Cruz Film Festival, USA
Tallgrass Film Festival, USA
Orlando Film Festival, USA
Puerto Rico Fine Arts Film Festival – First Film CompetitionSpecial Mention
Weyauwega International Film Festival, USA
Dharamshala International Film Festival, India
UK International Jewish Film Festival, UK
International Crime and Punishment Film Festival, Turkey
European Film Forum Scanorama, Lithuania
Jewish Motifs IFF, Poland
Brussels Jewish IFF, Belgium