Not a Hero, Just Us

Not a Hero, Just Us follows reservist soldier Shaked Brand as he embarks on a documentary journey alongside his comrades-in-arms, Amichai Korda and Avi Epstein. Together, they capture their fellow soldiers’ experiences during the battles in Khan Yunis. The camera does not focus solely on combat but also on those fighting—revealing a mosaic of human moments where pain and hope, fear and laughter, intertwine.

A week before Hanukkah, the platoon sets out on a mission on the outskirts of Khan Yunis. A brutal ambush shakes the soldiers to their core, leaving them to grapple not only with the enemy but also with the emotional toll of losing their comrades. As if that weren’t enough, an unrelenting rainstorm drenches them for three days, and exhaustion weighs heavily, making it increasingly difficult to push forward. Amid the chaos, the platoon commander fights to lead his soldiers—while privately battling the psychological cost of war.

Shaked Brand’s film offers an intimate and unfiltered look at life on the battlefield, uncovering a different kind of heroism—not the kind that makes headlines, but the quiet resilience of soldiers enduring the relentless hardships of combat. Through this lens, the film brings the untold story of reservists to the big screen.