Through stop-motion animation, drawings and interviews, directors Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan recreate an astonishing true story from the First Palestinian Intifada: the Israeli army’s pursuit of eighteen cows, whose independent milk production on a Palestinian collective farm was declared “a threat to the natioIn the award-winning documentary The Wanted 18, directors Amer Shomali and

Paul Cowan bring to life a remarkable story of nonviolent resistance during the

First Intifada.

It’s 1987 and the Israeli army is in hot pursuit of eighteen dairy cows in the town

of Beit Sahour in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The cows are declared a

threat to Israel’s national security after a group of Palestinians begin producing

milk for the town’s residents.

These newly minted dairy farmers have to learn the most basic skills—even just

how to milk the cows! But they are determined to be a model of self-reliance and

provide their community with alternatives to replace Israeli goods.

The Israeli soldiers find themselves in a game of cat-and-mouse as residents of the

town work together to shuttle the cows from barn to barn. The fugitive cows of

Beit Sahour become legendary and the “intifada milk,” often distributed under

cover of night, is a part of residents’ daily diet.

Humorous and thought-provoking, The Wanted 18 shows the power of mass

mobilization and nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation during the First

Intifada – an era too-often simplistically depicted with stone-throwing Palestinian

youth facing armed soldiers. This is a poignant film about nation-building from the

bottom up, by the people not the politicians.nal security of the state of Israel.”