“Smile, and the world will smile back.”

“Smile, and the world will smile back.”

A frightening and trying night in a family’s home in Hebron, the West Bank, ends up leading to a gala event in Berlin, the European Film Awards ceremony. B’Tselem’s film serves to bridge the gap between these two situations that are worlds apart.

The al-Haddad family, long-time volunteers in B’Tselem’s video project, documented a night raid of their home by the Israeli military. The soldiers had no warrant. They came and went without making any arrests. The footage the al-Haddads captured is inherently powerful, bringing a unique blend of humor, the absurd, and the terror that comes of a military raid in the middle of the night. B’Tselem’s video department helped shape this footage into a short documentary film.

The film has been screened in many prominent festivals worldwide and won many awards. Today, on International Human Rights Day, we could not be more proud to inform you that the film is also a nominee for best short film in this weekend’s European Film Awards ceremony.

You can watch the film (about 10 minutes) online here.