Room 514

In this disturbing, realistic debut a determined young female soldier interrogates an officer. Contrary to her colleagues’ advice she accuses him of beating up an Arab family. She perseveres against the abuse of power in the army. A female Israeli soldier is ordered to interrogate an Israeli officer who is alleged to have abused an Arab family. Lower in rank and also a woman, she is barely taken seriously by the haughty man; he only gives her sarcastic answers. Her colleagues, including her lover, advise her to stop the case – because it is too political, too complex and too notorious. Instead, she fastens her teeth in it, in the hope of getting justice for the victims. In the meantime she has the thumbscrews tightened by her lover and his intended. All the interrogations take place in room 514, where the sound palette is formed only by voices and the air conditioning. Room 514 is a courageous, hyper-realistic, low-budget drama that provides a worrying and critical picture of Israeli Army culture, where young soldiers discover that good and evil, black and white, don’t exist. This debut film filled with expressive, hand-held shots was recorded in only a few days.