DocAviv Galil 2010 – Preview

DocAviv, the international documentary film festival, will be heading north for the DocAviv Galil Festival from November 29 – December 2, 2010 in Ma’a lot Tarshiha. Aiming to expand the artistic and geographic borders of documentary filmmaking in Israel, the festival will focus primarily on Israeli films, with an emphasis on the dialogue between filmmakers and their audience.

The film Teacher Irena, directed by Itamar Chen will open the festival on November 29, 2010, at the new performing arts center in Ma’a lot Tarshiha.

Festival director Galia Bador said, “The festival in the Galil is a natural extension of DocAviv’s vision of encouraging documentary filmmaking in Israel, but beyond that, it is a cultural-geographic space with its own identity – that of the periphery which maintains a mutual correspondence with the center, so that the festival has a voice of its own.”

Shlomo Buhbut, Mayor of Ma’a lot Tarshiha, the city hosting the festival, sees it as “a breakthrough and beginning of an important tradition. This year we are inaugurating a new performing arts center and we invite the documentary filmmakers to view the festival and Ma’a lot Tarshiha as their annual meeting place, where they can present their work and meet their audiences.”

The festival program was designed to emphasize films originating from, or influenced by life in the periphery – geographic, social, or otherwise. All the filmmakers will come to the festival and each will meet with the audience for Q & A, discussions and panels on different topics. There is also an emphasis on young audiences with films made by college and high school students.

Among the festival highlights include the annual award ceremony of the Israeli Documentary Film Prizes, presented in collaboration with the Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum, that will be broadcast on Channel 1 on the closing night of the festival. The ceremony will be followed by a performance of the Giraffes.

A new project will be launched at this year’s festival: “Benadam Lamakom” (between the person and the place), providing funding to produce three short (30 min) films, supported by the Broadcasting Authority, Rabinovitch Foundation – Film Project and Gesher Multicultural Film Fund. The films will deal with the connection between people and the periphery and will premiere at the 2011 DocAviv Galil festival. Dani Verta’s film The Human Turbine will be screened at the project launch, and there will be a discussion with the filmmakers and its protagonists, as well as a screening of Meni Elias’ film BeTzet Israel.

Another new tradition will begin here – Anima Doc – an annual joint project of the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund and DocAviv Galil to encourage original filmmaking in the animation documentary genre. The Gesher Fund will award two grants to students creating a final project and a production grant to an independent filmmaker. The program will be directed by documentary filmmaker and director Sarit Haimiyan, and the completed films will premiere at DocAviv 2011.

The Festival Program will include:

Doc Culture: a symposium on creating art and culture in the periphery, as seen through the eyes of the artists. An initiative of the Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum, moderated by Muli Shapira, with Nissim Dayan (film), Amnon Shamosh (Literature), Haled Abu Ali and Moni Yosef (Arab-Jewish Theatre in Acco).

Doc Music: Will feature the films Wandering Eyes, directed by Ofir Trainin. Winner of the first prize at the 2010 DocAviv Festival, the film centers on musician Gabriel Belhassan and I Saw Giraffes in India, directed by Noam Pinhas. There will be a discussion with the filmmakers following the screening.

DocuArt: Dorit Zimbalista’s film on Sayed Kashua, Sayed Kashua – Forever Scared – follows the Arab-Israeli writer for a period of seven years, an intimate yet political portrayal of the author. No Gnomes Will Appear, by Ruth Valk, is a film about Sarah Shiloh, author of the book by the same title, who lives in Kfar Vradim in the north. Uri Sivan’s film Zubin and I, from the “Cultural Heroes” series, depicts the filmmaker’s acquaintance with the beloved conductor.

Two panels on Women in the Media will be moderated by Einat Fishbein, with the participation of the protagonists of the following documentaries: Rivka Floch of The Lady of the Court (Dir: Amnon Binyamin), Sophie Tzedaka of Lone Samaritan (Dir: Barak Heyman), and Sara Einfeld of Black Bus (Dir: Anat Zuria). They all come from a closed society with rigid rules in which women’s lives are led in the private, home sphere. Each chose a profession that has placed her in the public eye. In the first panel the film Black Bus will be screened, followed by a discussion with director Anat Zuria and Sara Einfeld. The second panel will include screenings of Lone Samaritan and The Lady of the Court, followed by a discussion with the participants.

New media will enter the festival full force with Doc.Dot.Game – a full day event that will be broadcast over the internet, in which the participating students perform tasks related to documentary filmmaking as part of the game’s content.

Reflecting the festival’s philosophy, tickets for all films and events will be 20 NIS, and may be purchased by calling: 077-7000-555, or via www.koopot.co.il. Additional information on Ma’a lot Tarshiha can be found online – www.maltar.org.il,  or call: 04-9578871. The full program and additional information can be found on the DocAviv Galil festival site.