“Film just brings people together with such completely different viewpoints, and it can really change you, it can change your life, it can change your perspective,” Jennifer Jason Leigh spoke these words at the opening ceremony of the 41st Jerusalem Film Festival, where her very presence at the festival, in Israel, at this difficult time, spoke eloquently. It takes courage to identify so publicly as Jew, and compassion to speak out for the release of the hostages, and for an end to the war.
So many lives were ravaged on October 7th when Hamas attacked Israel, and there are still hostages being held in Gaza. In this context, every decision, every action, takes on a new meaning. What is the role of a film festival in war time? CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Jerusalem Film Festival Executive Director Roni Mahadav-Levin noted, “It seems we are accustomed to unusual years, but with this endless war, it was not obvious that the festival would take place.” His voice full of feeling, he thanked all those who worked to make the festival come together, and said, “We hope that through the stories presented in the coming ten days, we will succeed in providing faith or hope, as does the heroine of our opening film Thelma. I wish everyone a pleasurable and thought-provoking festival, and conclude with a call to end the war and return all the hostages home soon.”
All art heightens our awareness of beauty, pleasure, and laughter. Even if in this moment we feel that these are not present in our lives, art and film bring them to us, if only for 90 or 120 minutes or more, offering respite, healing, and hope. Art gives us the resilience to endure the difficult times, and the courage to create change. Art, and film in particular, explores the human experience in ways that reach beyond words, touching hearts and minds. When we enter imaginatively into the lives of others, seeing the world from their perspective, we practice compassion. Making and experiencing art – in times of war and crisis – is essential.
The opening ceremony took place, as is the tradition, at the Sultan’s Pool in Jerusalem, before an audience of 6,000, of whom one thousand were soldiers, families of reserve soldiers, families of hostages, bereaved families, and people from the North and South who have been displaced from their homes. There was a solemn tone throughout, with speakers Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion and Festival Director Roni Mahadav-Levin, followed by Reymonde Amsallem who presented Leigh with the Jerusalem Film Festival’s Achievement Award.
Sharing her memories and feelings, Leigh said, “It is very meaningful, for me, to be here tonight, to have my work recognized, to be here not only as an actress, but as a Jew. It’s very poignant for this to be my first time in Israel because Israel has been on my mind every day.” Recounting her childhood, raised as a Secular Jew, yet always proud of her heritage and identity, Leigh told a riveting story about Death of a Stranger, a film about the PLO her stepfather, Reza Badiyi, was directing in Israel, starring Gila Almagor and Jason Robards. When Badiyi’s Israeli assistant Gabriela commented that the script was “terrible” and “unrealistic”, Badiyi asked Leigh’s mother, screenwriter Barbara Turner to come to Israel to rewrite the script. Seeking authenticity, Turner and Gabriela arranged a clandestine meeting with PLO members, who knew they were making a movie, but did not know that their identities. During the conversation, the things that the PLO members said were so “horrifying and upsetting” that Gabriela challenged them, asking if they had ever met an Israeli, and telling them that they should. The meeting took on an ominous tone as the PLO members asked Gabriela where she was from, and then asked Turner if she was Jewish. Turner responded “Yes, I am,” and Leigh, recounting her mother’s courage, said, her voice breaking, “I’m just so proud, I just find that so moving.” The story then took an unexpected turn as Leigh said that at the meeting, there was a young woman “full of rage” whom her mother invited to come to the film set. Although hesitant at first, the young woman did come, and then came a second time, and then again, forging a friendship with Turner that lasted years.
Let’s share our stories, onscreen, and in conversations in the hallways and garden of the Jerusalem Cinematheque, and let the stories awaken, challenge, and inspire us, let them give us hope.
The full program of the Jerusalem Film Festival is available online.
