Masha Zur Glozman | 01.27.2012 | Haaretz

Little did director-cinematographer Yoav Shamir dream, when embarking on an Internet campaign to raise funds for his latest movie, that he would hook the biggest fish of all: Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore. Never before has the acclaimed and controversial Moore agreed to participate in producing a movie which he himself is not directing. Last week, he came on board as executive producer of the new documentary "10% - What Makes a Hero," and will no doubt lend it his inimitable, and inestimable added value.

When filmmaker Shamir began working, about two and a half years ago, on the movie - which is about people who "go against the grain" to help others, sometimes risking their own lives - he expected to produce and direct it himself. To that end, he also opened a page about two months ago at Indiegogo, an Internet fund-raising platform. The goal: to come up with $30,000 by January 31. For every donation, whether $10 or $30,000, he offered a "perk" (i.e., autographs, special viewing rights, credit, etc. ). As for Moore, "he said he would donate a dollar for every dollar raised during the campaign," said Shamir, himself a filmmaker who has achieved both local and international renown.

Moore apparently became aquainted with Shamir when the latter's 2009 film about anti-Semitism, "Defamation," won the Stanley Kubrick Award for Bold and Innovative Filmmaking at Moore's Traverse City Film Festival in Michigan. "It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship," said Shamir, according to the online movie site realscreen.com.

Said Moore: "This is an urgent film, someone needed to make it, and I can't think of anyone better than Yoav Shamir. Shamir is that rare documentary filmmaker who is fearless and willing to show us the uncomfortable truths about the world we live in."

And, he added: "I have been asked by many documentarians over the years to executive produce their films. This is the first time I've said 'yes.'"

To understand the interest in "10%," one must look both at Shamir's own record and also at the topic he investigates, relating to two groundbreaking social psychology experiments conducted decades ago in the United States. Their grim revelations about human nature have prompted a new study by an Israeli scholar, along with one of the original American researchers, which constitutes the subject of Shamir's new effort.

For his part, Shamir has never balked at investigating controversial issues. For example, in "Checkpoint" (2003 ) he showed the prosaic and melancholy reality of the experience of Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians at a number of checkpoints in the territories. This was followed by "5 Days" (2006 ), about Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip. In 2008 he released "Flipping Out," which follows Israeli backpackers in India who experience psychotic breakdowns as a result of substance abuse. "Defamation" examines how Israel and Jewish organizations use allegations of anti-Semitism and the memory of the Holocaust to reap political benefits.

International recognition of his work has come in the form of festival awards and reviews. Michael Moore described "Defamation" as "incredibly bold and brave," and Nick Broomfield (an award-winning filmmaker whose work includes "Kurt & Courtney" and "Biggie and Tupac" ) - speaking at the 2009 London Film Festival where "Defamation" was awarded the prize for best documentary - called it "a fantastic film, which does exactly what documentary, at its best, can do."

"10% - What Makes a Hero" focuses on the flip side of the troubling responses revealed in experiments conducted by American psychologists Stanley Milgram, in the 1960s, and by Prof. Philip Zimbardo in 1971. Milgram sought to examine obedience to authority, even when it meant ignoring universal moral codes. Zimbardo's so-called Stanford prison experiment focused on behavior in simulated prison conditions.

In his film, Shamir looks not at the majority of people who tend to lose their "moral compass" in extreme situations, but rather at the small minority, estimated to be usually about 10 percent of the population, who will extend a hand, sometimes even to an enemy, simply because it's the moral thing to do. His goal: to understand what makes a certain small percentage of people "heroes," why they will help a stranger in distress - despite an authoritative order to the contrary or social conditioning or other, natural inclinations - whereas others will turn their backs. Among other things Shamir filmed bonobo chimpanzees in Congo; people recognized as "righteous among the nations" for rescuing Jews in the Holocaust; and a wide range of individuals who risked their lives to save others. At present, he is reviewing his footage, ensconced in the editing room.

Like 'Lord of the Flies'

Yoav Shamir was born in 1970, in Tel Aviv. He obtained a B.A. in history and philosophy from Tel Aviv University and a master's in fine arts with honors in cinema. Besides the recognition in London, his films have also won awards at international festivals in Amsterdam, San Francisco and Tribeca, and at Hot Docs in Canada. He lives in Tel Aviv with his partner and his daughter.

What prompted you to make the new film and probe these particular questions?

Shamir: "I was approached by Dr. Rony Berger, a clinical psychologist who worked in Natal, the Israel Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War. He had seen 'Defamation.' He told me about a new idea he had for a research study - the one I follow in the film - which comes from two directions. There is his direction, that of someone who treated Palestinians and Israelis that experienced posttraumatic stress disorder. He was the person in Sderot and throughout the south when Israel was bombing Gaza.

"He noticed," Shamir adds, "that most of the people he treated had become more extreme in their views. They turned far more militant and nationalistic, and displayed less tolerance for the 'other.' There is something logical in that. It's a type of defense mechanism.

"On the other hand, there was a small group who, even though they underwent the same experience, joined groups like Combatants for Peace, Breaking the Silence and others. In other words, it's the same trauma but there are a few who take it in one direction, whereas the majority take it in the other, supposedly 'natural' direction."

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