Tin Soldiers
Through UN-soldier Gunnar Brandsdal’s video diary, we follow the Force Mobile Reserve camp in Southern Lebanon in 1996.
The diary shows a military service that more reminds of a holiday in the sun with parties and drinking, a Norwegian version of M*A*S*H. But soon the gravity picks up and the laughter get’s stuck in the soldiers’ throats.
On the 8th of April, the Israeli army bombs the nearby Fiji headquarters, a UN camp that hosts more than 500 Palestinian refugees. Close by, the Norwegian soldiers witness it all. They are sent out on a rescue operation, to find survivers among all the dead. Afterwards the Israelian army claims the bombing was a accident, but Gunnar Brandsdal’s video recording shows something else.
In Tin Soldiers we meet three Norwegian soldiers who were serving in the UN forces in Lebanon when the bombing occured. They feel the incident is about to be forgotten, without anyone being charged for the bombing. Tin Soldiers won Best International Documentary Award at the Beirut Intl Film Festival and the AVID Award for Best Editing at 2005 Documenta Madrid.
Technical Specifications
Original title Tinnsoldatene
Year 2004
Length 50 min
Languages Norwegian
Production companies Piraya Film
Production countries Norway
Sales/Distribution Kudos Family. Festival distribution: The Norwegian Film Institute.
Format BetaCam
IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0784842
Gallery
Awards
2005 Nominated for FOCAL International Award, London, UK
2005 Documenta, Madrid: AVID Award for Best Editing. Spain
2004 Beirut International Documentary Film Festival: Best International Documentary Film, Lebanon
Festivals
2008 Fajr Int’l Film Festival – Palestine programme, Iran
2006 Singapore International Film Festival, Malaysia
2005 Ismailia Int’l Film Festival, Egypt
2005 Filmfest Eberswalde, Germany
2005 Documenta, Madrid
2005 Tri Continental Film Festival, Cape Town, South Africa
2005 ZagrebDox, Croatia
2004 IDFA Amsterdam, Reflecting Images, The Netherlands
2004 Beirut International Documentary Film Festival, Lebanon
2004 Bergen International Film Festival, Norway