News Brief

Hezbollah voiced interest in screening Israeli films about the southern Lebanon conflict zone.

Avichai Henig, an Israeli producer behind the feature-length drama “Beaufort” and the documentary “Wasted,” both of which deal with the final days of Israel’s “security zone” in southern Lebanon when beleaguered troops were under regular Hezbollah attack, had an unusual encounter at a recent film festival in Italy.

Henig told Ma’ariv on Tuesday that he was approached by a reporter from Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television asking for copies of the films. The reporter wanted to know how Henig thought the leader of the Iranian-backed militia, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, would respond to them.

“I said that in my opinion, he would be pleased to see how weak the Israeli soldiers were in such a situation, but that it is important for him to know that his people are in the same situation,” Henig said.

“Beaufort” was critically acclaimed, but its release in Israel shortly after last year’s Lebanon war stirred controversy. Military veterans protested the fact that some of the actors who portrayed soldiers never served in uniform.

Separately, a Lebanese film about the 34-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah swept the top prizes at the Dubai International Film Festival this week. “Under the Bombs” tells the story of an unlikely love affair between a Shi’ite woman and Christian man during the fighting in Lebanon. Its director dedicated the prize to the war’s victims.