Israeli director's CGI short film sparks online controversy in Italy

Mili Pecherer's computer-generated short film 'It Wasn't the Right Mountain, Mohammad' became the target of a heated online controversy after being featured on Italian TV news program TG5. The film, which premiered at the Berlinale and was nominated for Best Short Film at the European Film Awards, was attacked by popular Italian gaming YouTubers Nicola 'Redez' Palmieri and Mario 'Synergo' Palladino of the channel Quei Due Sul Server. In a video with over 130,000 views, they criticized the TG5 segment for exaggerating the film's technical achievements and targeted Pecherer personally, calling her a 'troll' and a provocateur, with sexist undertones. The short film reimagines the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac from the perspective of the ram, blending elements from Brigit Pegeen Kelly's poetry, Paul Celan's 'Große, glühende Wölbung' (as read by Derrida), and a real message in a bottle found by Pecherer's parents on an Israeli beach, signed 'Mohammad'. Technically, the film is a machinima created using the Unity game engine, embracing glitches and imperfections. Pecherer, who left Israel for France, studied at Le Fresnoy Studio national des arts contemporains, where she was required to use new technologies. She initially tried Cinema 4D and Goat Simulator before settling on Unity. The film will screen again in Italy on August 27, 2020, as part of the Film Festival della Lessinia's short film competition, available via streaming.