ISRAELI MOSAIC FILM SERIES
Join us for an exploration of Israel’s diversity through three films that depict three very different elements of Israeli society and portray its rich cultural mosaic. Instructions will be provided to watch each film online on your own. The screenings will be followed by live discussions with the filmmakers for each film in Israel.
CHILDREN OF THE SUN
Film Discussion with Director Ran Tal
Thursday, September 5, 11:30 am EDT
ABOUT THE FILM
Children of the first kibbutzim in Israel were born in the early 20th century to youthful parents who were full of hope. They have been called “Children of the Sun,” because they considered them children of the “Sun of Nations” Revolution in Israel. They were born into a utopia and were destined to become the “New Man.” They were educated in an ideological society that aspired to replace the traditional family with the collective one, to subjugate the will of the individual in favor of the common good and a life of equality. Children of the Sun tells the story of the journey in search of a society’s memory and the concepts that have passed from the world. The film is a collage of over eighty amateur films that include rare footage that was shot at the kibbutzim between 1930 and 1970, including conversations with family and friends. The tapestry of rare materials from which the film is compiled creates both a very personal and very public story – a form of super story about one of the most fascinating myths of the Zionist movement in the Land of Israel.
Runtime – 70 minutes
Hebrew with English subtitles
Film may only be viewed in the United States and Canada during our screening period
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Ran Tal, born in 1963, graduated from the Tel Aviv University Department of Film in 1994. Tal is an independent director whose documentaries focus on Israeli reality through an historic social perspective. Tal’s main focus is on documentary films, in addition to which he directs diverse television projects and is editor of artistic social endeavors. Tal is the recipient of the Ophir Prize, the Jerusalem Film Festival Volgin Award, the DocAviv Film Festival Award, the Forum for the Preservation of Audio Visual award and the Documentary Forum award. Tal also won the Ministry of Culture Cinema Art prize and the Mifal Hapayis Landau Award for Stage Art. Tal teaches cinema at the Film Departments at Sapir College and Tel Aviv University. He is the founder and editor of Takriv (Close Up) online magazine for discussion and critique of documentary film (together with Anat Even) and one of the founders of Keshet Broadcasting. His other films include – The Museum, The Garden of Eden, Jewish Time and My Dream House.
UNDERGROUND BALLET
Film Discussion with Writer and Director Lina Chaplin and Producer Daniela Reiss Razon
Thursday, September 12, 11:30 am EDT
ABOUT THE FILM
When fans of the football club of Beitar Jerusalem make their way to Teddy Stadium, they hardly ever notice Nadia as she enters and makes her way to a classical ballet studio beneath the bleachers. The ceiling trembles, the cheering fills the room, but the studio remains isolated from Jerusalem’s reality. A decade ago Nadia and her mother, Nina Timofeyeva, a prima ballerina at the Bolshoi Ballet, left Moscow for Jerusalem and set up the studio. It was a professional suicide. Ballet and football make for a surrealistic combination.
Runtime – 53 minutes
Hebrew with English subtitles
Film may only be viewed in the United States and Canada during our screening period
ABOUT THE WRITER/DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER
Writer and Director Lina Chaplin was born in Moscow. She graduated from the All-Soviet State Film Institute in Moscow as film director. (VGIK). She moved to Israel in 1976. In Russia and in Israel, she has directed over 50 documentaries. Her films have won awards at the International Film Festivals in Moscow, Haifa, Geneva, New York, and Jerusalem. One of her films was awarded the Russian State Prize. In 1999, her film Glorious Sisters won a bronze medal at the International Festival of documentary films in New York. Her other works include – Next Year in Moscow, Georgian Fest, The Russian Knot and a Voyage into a Strange Land.
Producer Daniela Reiss Razon received a BA in Cinema and General Studies from Tel Aviv University. She has conducted archival research for several documentaries including The Silver Tray, The Settlers, and Mr. Gaga along with documentaries about the Yom Kippur War and the Mossad. She is serving as the producer and researcher for other documentaries that are currently in production.
HONEY TRAP
Film Discussion with Writers and Directors Aalam Warqe and Kobi Davidian
Thursday, September 26, 11:30 am EDT
Register here for film and discussion
ABOUT THE FILM
Keryat Moshe, home of a large Ethiopian Jewish community, is considered in main street media one of the toughest neighborhoods in Israel. With a rich traditional lifestyle, this immigrant community lives socially apart from modern “white” Israeli society. In recent years, a mass building of luxury villas and skyscrapers cleaned out the orchards surrounding the neighborhood making it a close and condense ghetto. Hana, the heroine of the film has a dream, to change the reality of the neighborhood, for 8 years, she’s involved in the national priority construction program that will catapult the residents into a new era. But, as she manages to push the project, she finds herself drowning in her personal life as a long and painful divorce process could result in the loss of her home and place in the neighborhood.
Runtime – 60 minutes
Hebrew with English subtitles
Film may only be viewed in the United States and Canada during our screening period
ABOUT THE WRITERS AND DIRECTORS
Aalam Warqe is an award winning script writer and director, born in 1979 in Awash, Ethiopia, Aalame immigrated to Israel in 1991. She graduated from Sam Spiegel Film & Television School. In 2012 Aalam-Warqe along with Kobi Davidian co-funded Black and White films. In 2016 her short fiction film Facing the Wall won Best Short Film at the 33rd Jerusalem International Film Festival. As her other short experimental fiction film Transitions has screened in festivals around the world. her 2018 debut feature-length drama Fig Tree screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the Eurimages Audentia Award for Best Female Director. In 2021 her documentary With No Land was aired over the Israeli public television channel and started its festival tour.
Director and producer Kobi Davidian was born in 1980 in Jerusalem, Israel. He graduated from the Arts and Cinema program at Tel Aviv University in 2006. Kobi has worked as a researcher and a producer for different television shows and documentary films before starting his career as an independent filmmaker. In 2012 he co-funded Black and White films along with Aalam Warqe. His documentary Turbulence and short experimental fiction Transitions films were screened and won prizes in festivals around the world. In 2018, he produced and directed a testimonial archive, Memories of Ethiopia, for the Israeli national archive. In 2021 his documentary With No Land was aired over the Israeli public television channel and started its festival tour.
Register here for film and discussion
Israeli Mosaic Film Series 2024
GIVING
Sponsorship opportunities are available for this series at all giving levels.
Donate Online – please follow this link and insert “ISRAEL FILM SERIES” in the “Write a note” section. All major credit cards are accepted. Please indicate in that section if you would prefer to remain anonymous and not be recognized in our Sponsors list.
DONATE ONLINE
Donate through the mail – please complete the sponsorship form and return with you payment to our mailing address below:
Israeli Mosaic Film Series Sponsorship Form
Our mailing address is:
Walnut Street Synagogue
PO Box 505265
Chelsea, MA 02150-5265
SPONSORS
This series is made possible by a grant from the Congregation Ahabat Shalom Religious Fund and other generous donors.