by Mark Deming
synopsis
One man gets a troubling look at the face of racism in Australia in this short drama from filmmaker Ben Phelps. Nedal (Rodney Afif) is a husband and father of Lebanese ancestry who is driving through the outback with his family when they're stopped by a group of soldiers. The soldiers tell Nedal that they're arrived at a military checkpoint and that the Australian army is holding war games nearby, but Nedal slowly becomes convinced that the men in uniform have other things in mind besides their safety, and he must act to protect the lives of his wife and children. Checkpoint won the jury prize for best short film at the 2006 Montreal World Film Festival.
