At 22, Guy Gilboa-Dalal dreamed of Japan. On the morning of October 7, dressed in his kimono for the Nova festival, he sent a last selfie with his brother Gal before being kidnapped by Hamas. Today, Israeli artists are transforming his story into an animated film, mixing the harsh reality of the Gaza tunnels with the colorful dreams of the manga he loved so much.
“He wanted freedom, to do so many things in Japan. He had planned a long trip,” confides Gal, his brother who survived the massacre. In Alfei Menashe's family bedroom, the posters of Attack on Titan and Death Note still bear witness to this passion, inherited from his big brother. The project was born during the Harukon festival in Jerusalem, an anime convention where his parents took the stage. Touched by their story, Jordan Barr, founder of the Pixel studio, decided to create this 5-6 minute short film, scheduled for February 2024. “Instead of being in a tunnel in Gaza, he finds himself somewhere near from Kyoto with a samurai watching over him, like in the anime he watches,” Barr explains. The film, which will be available in Hebrew, Japanese and English, navigates between dark reality and the fantastical world of manga. “I take it as a surprise gift for Guy,” confides his mother Merav, who lends her voice to the film with the whole family. “People are waiting for him in Japan, they heard about him in a school there,” she adds, maintaining the hope of seeing her son return before the next cherry blossoms.
