FIVE YEARS IN THE LIFE OF AN ARTIST Director: Moritz Baumann / U.K. / 2021 Category: Arts & Culture Production: Moritz Baumann Language: English Length: 72 minutes
Logline: Five Years in the Life of an Artist is an intimate documentary following a man's struggle to rise in the art world while watching his little girl blossom and grow.
Synopsis: Moritz is a painter living in London. With the birth of his daughter Betty he picks up a camera and decides to start filming. Five Years in the Life of an Artist is an intimate documentary following a man's struggle to rise in the art world while watching his little girl blossom and grow. We get to know his wife, his friends and a characterful cast of art dealers and collectors - and see him create two paintings and put on two exhibitions.
Movie Reviews:
« Five Years in the Life of an Artist, about Moritz Baumann, a British artist who chronicled his art along with the growth of his daughter. He is considered a Motionist painting. Very interesting development of both while trying to make a name for himself. Inspiring from a struggling artist perspective.» Sherry Marger / Comment on a comparison/ Jacqueline Knell
CONCERTO FOR TWO
[Koncert na dwoje] Director: Tomasz Drozdowicz / Poland / 2018 Category: Arts & Culture Production: Beata Hyczko: Studio Filmowe "Autograf", Poland; for TVP SA, Polish Television.
Supported by The Polish Cultural Foundation (PCF). Language: Polish, English. Subtitles: English Length: 75 minutes
Logline: A story about passion, talent and great love. In the marriage of Ewa and conductor Jerzy Maksymiuk, she sacrifices herself to protect him, his music and their life.
Synopsis: An intimate portrait of one of Poland’s most charismatic conductors: Jerzy Maksymiuk. A conductor, a composer, a pianist. At 80 fully active or even more, excessively active. Demanding of himself and others, never slowing down, merciless to poor performers, still fascinated by music and focused on his scores until it borders madness. Loved by the eminent, but irritating to and disliked by hack musicians. A charismatic “maestro” admired in London, Glasgow and Paris, totally helpless in everyday life without his wife’s assistance and direction. The film depicts him at work with outstanding musicians and orchestras, also during composing his music.
Audience Award: Best Documentary Film: Warsaw Film Festival - Poland 2018
Opening Film: Krakow Film Festival - Poland 2018
Camerimage Film Festival - Poland 2018
Movie Reviews:
« The film follows 80-year-old Maksymiuk as he puts his orchestra through its paces in numerous intensive rehearsals. Pieces are repeated until the maestro has his own way and the music is as perfect as he believes it could be. But back at home, he falls under the spell of his wife, Ewa, who has always been by his side to organise his daily life – and to tell him off if his perfectionism gets too overbearing.» /Laurence Boyce / Review: Concerto for Two / Cineuropa
SHOOTING THE ISRAELI MAN
[Gever MeH'aSratim](aka ''Cut To The Chase'') Director: Noit Geva (''Description of A Memory'') / Israel / 2018 Category: Arts & Culture / Cinema / Society & Ethnology Production: Arik Bernstein: Alma Films
Supported by The New Fund for Cinema and Television (NFCT), Israel Language: Hebrew. Subtitles: English Length: 62 minutes
Logline: A cinematic puzzle made up of hundreds of Israeli feature films from the 1960's till this day.
Synopsis: A cinematic puzzle made up of hundreds of Israeli feature films from the 1960's till this day. Fragments of shots, pieces of scenes, and short clips from different periods, styles, and colors, are assembled together to create a new narrative: the story of the Israeli man, as seen on screen, searching for love; between wars, from recruitment, to marriage. Shooting The Israeli Man is a love song to cinema, to Israeli filmmakers, and to the heroes of its screen; a cinematic poem built from classical, as well as forgotten moments, in the compilation tradition, that in this new context emphasize and elucidates additional meanings. It is simultaneously a light and serious look upon the Israeli man; amusing and heart rending.
NAZARETH CINEMA LADY Director: Nurit Jacobs-Yinon / Israel 2015 Category: Arts & Culture Production: Nurit Jacobs-Yinon (Aluma-Films), for the Second Authority for Television and Radio, Israel; Commissioning Editor: Yosi Mulla; The New Fund for Cinema and Television, Israel Language: Hebrew, Arabic. Subtitles: English Length: 52 minutes.
Synopsis: The story of Safaa Dabour, an observant Muslim woman from Nazareth, struggling to take charge of her own fate and freedom and to establish the first and only Arab cinematheque in Israel. She succeeds in taking charge of her own fate and freedom and established and run the cinematheque. A single woman in a man's world, she travels to bring Arab box-office hits from Arab states, and seeks against all odds, to create an island of culture for the society to which she belongs. This is a cinematic profile of a courageous woman whose path to freedom is interwoven with the battle for her own cinematheque.
EPOS International Art Film Festival 2016 / Best Film Award
Jury Statement: « The film sketches a portrait of an extraordinary character – a courageous and independent Muslim woman, faithful to her dreams. With empathy and sensitivity, the director delicately accompanies the life of Safaa Dabour, a cultural heroine determined to bring her great love for the cinema to the society in which she lives. The film gradually crystallizes into an intense drama that touches not only on the life of one woman but on the lives of us all »
Movie Reviews:
« A portrait of a charming, yet somewhat stubborn and immensely courageous, woman who sets her sights on fulfilling her vision for the Arab community of Nazareth.» /Amy Kronish / IsraelFilm.blogspot
DAVID PERLOV - Portrait Director: Ruth Walk / Israel 2014 Category: Arts & Culture Production: Youval Orr: Eilat Media, Jaffa, for Channel 8 (Hot Cable Communication), Israel Language: Hebrew, Portuguese, English, French. Subtitles: English / French Length: 65 minutes.
Synopsis: The life and art of David Perlov, who is considered to be the most important Israeli documentary filmmaker.
December 13, 2013 marked ten years to the death of artist, filmmaker and teacher David Perlov. In the film, Perlov’s apartment on 4 Shaul Hamelech Boulevard in Tel Aviv is once again the studio that it was in his lifetime. Perlov lived in his apartment on the 14th floor for thirty years, filming, editing and screening films. The rooms remain untouched; the walls lined with his sketches, painting and still photos. Friends, students and family members visit the apartment in the film and together form a perspective of the unique character of Perlov – an immigrant from Brazil who became the father of modern Israeli cinema, an artist who widely influences generations of students. The film offers archive materials and rare documents from Sao Paulo and Paris which illuminate the relationship between painting, filmmaking and photography that filled Perlov’s life.
Synopsis (French):
Dans l’appartement ou David Perlov a vécu pendant 30 ans, filmé, monté, édité ses films, au 4 boulevard Shaul Hamelech à Tel Aviv, Ruth Walk donne la parole à sa femme et ses filles, ses étudiants, ses amis, en filme des recoins et y dévoile des archives pour nous permettre de pénétrer dans la vie et l’œuvre de ce grand documentariste.
CHANCE Director and Producer: Yair Koifman & Yuval Erez / Israel 2013 Category: Arts & Culture / Society & Ethnology Production: with the support of the Galileo Foundation and the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund, Israel Language: Hebrew, Arabic, English. Subtitles: English Length: 58 minutes.
Synopsis: This film tells the story of an unlikely alliance: Israeli Yaakov Arnon, an ex-government official–turned–peace activist, and Mahmud Subah, an Arab actor and director, who does not believe in coexistence, join forces. Together they established a theater group for Jewish youths from Kibbutz Harduf and their Arab peers from the City of Shfaram. The troupe flies to England for 30 days of rehearsals there. But do they have a winning chance of staging the Brothers Grimm fairy tales in a London theater – and in English? This story, an incredible human journey, serves as the framework for “Chance,” which focuses on the back-story of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Festivals & Awards:
Epos International Art Film Festival, Tel Aviv - Israel 2013
BACK TO CASABLANCA (Son of the Land) Director: Sigalit Banai Category: Arts & Culture / Identity/Immigration Production: Ron Cahlili: Docudrama Productions, for YES-Docu, Documentary Channel / Israel 2012 Language: Hebrew, French, Arabic. Subtitles: English Length: 50 minutes.
Synopsis: Israeli actor and director Ze'ev Revach was born in Morocco in 1940. He sets out on a journey back to Casablanca, in search of a Moroccan actor to star alongside him in his next film, which he dreams that he’ll be able to distribute around the Arab world. He connects with his mother tongue, discovers the commonalities between the two cultures, but his mission is not a simple one. Revach’s heart sways between Diaspora and Homeland, between authentic and imagined Moroccan belonging and between the script of the dream and the reality.
THE JOURNEY OF THE KLEZMORIM
Director: Aude Weisberger Category: Arts & Culture / Identity Production: Aude and Amit Weisberger: AAW productions / France 2012 Language: Hebrew, French, English. Subtitles: English / French Length: 46 minutes.
Synopsis: Shortly after its creation in Brittany (France), the Klezmer brass band «Beigale Orkestra» goes on a discovery tour of Israel. From the night bars of Tel-Aviv to the Hassidic community of Jerusalem, the visit of this Klezmer brass band, essentially made up of « goyim » (non-Jews), raises questions.
Through the thoughts and reflections of Amit and Jérôme, co-founders of« Beigale Orkestra », the film explores themes of identity and origins.
A road movie accompanied by Klezmer melodies, the « Journey of the Klezmorim » offers the chance to overcome cultural divisions by bowing before the universal power of traditional music.
A FILM ABOUT ANNA AKHMATOVA Director: Helga Landauer Category: Arts & Culture Production: Darya Zhuk: Turnstyle TV LLC; Das Films / USA / Russia 2008-2012 Language: Russian, English. Subtitles: English / Spanish / Russian Length: 1x58 / 2x52 minutes
Synopsis: Anna Akhmatova the most famous Russian poet of her time, a ''femme fatale''. For the Russians, Akhmatova was iconic not just for what she had done, but for the majesty of what she had not been allowed to do. By the time Anna Akhmatova was twenty-five, fate had granted her every conceivable gift: poetic talent, strength of character and beauty. With the commentary of the poet Anatoly Naiman, who knew Akhmatova in her last years.
THERE MUST BE ANOTHER WAY Director: Yariv Mozer Category: Arts & Culture Production: for IBA Channel One / Israel 2009 Language: Hebrew, Arabic, English, Subtitles: English Length: 62 minutes
Synopsis: A film from the Middle East, with a different sound. Following the military operation in Gaza and despite resistance from left and right, Israel sent for the first time for the Eurovision Song Contest a Jewish-Arab duo: NOA, considered to be the leading Israeli singing artist abroad, and Arab singer MIRA AWAD. Filmmaker Yariv Mozer (''My First War'') follows them on their journey: the climax of an ongoing five-year musical relationship between the two artists and their common wish for coexistence between their two nations.
GRIOT Director: Volker Goetze Production: Volker Goetze: WeitBlick Media, Co-produced with Sam Pollard / U.S.A. 2012 Category: Arts / Human Interest Language: Mandinka, Wolof, French, English. Subtitles: English Length: 52/82 minutes
Synopsis:
Ablaye Cissoko is a griot - a keeper of West African epic histories, a Senegalese storyteller and songwriter. By tradition, griots are the living repositories of West Africa's oral epics. They recount stories that are crucial for the preservation of West African social structures. Ablaye Cissoko is our ticket inside this mysterious world. Griots today are at a crossroads between the traditional, which is increasingly irrelevant, and something new. What could not be done in a thousand years through the competing ideals of Islam and Western philosophies is being done by a fundamental reordering of economic opportunity. The film captures this moment of historic confrontation between the imperative to maintain the social structures of the past and the need to enter into a dialogue with the international community.
This documentary by director/musician Volker Goetze uncovers the beauty of West Africa's tradition and discovers that some changes may be afoot that could alter the cultural landscape forever.
''Senegalese kora and western trumpet make fabulous music together. Volker Goetze’s enthralling documentary melds dazzling visuals and haunting songs to serve up a feast for the senses. Griot introduces us to Goetze’s own soulful trumpet stylings and the extraordinary voice and calabash harp artistry of Ablaye Cissoko.'' (Vancouver Film Festival)
DUNDUN - The Talking Drum Director: Ibisankale Kayode / Nigeria 2010 Category: Arts / Human Interest Language: English narration & subtitles. Length: 52 minutes
Synopsis: ''Dundun'', also called the Talking Drum, is considered by many to be the most eloquent of all the African drums, and is believed to have originated within the divinity. In the southern Sahara in Africa the Dundun is traditionally regarded as ''the instrument of the Kings''.''Dundun - The Talking Drum'' takes the viewer to the city of Oyo in Nigeria where the drum is believed to have originated. This comprehensive documentary shows the cultural and historical context surrounding the drum and an in-depth examination of its construction, from chopping down the correct tree to the finishing design touches. The film also presents many performances and demonstrates who may use the drum, when and for what it is used, and what is communicated.
ONE EYE WIDE OPEN - following Zvi Lachman Director: Aner Preminger & Ami Drozd / Israel 2009 Category: Art Co-Production: with AVRO Broadcasting Association / Close-Up, The Netherlands Language: Hebrew. Subtitles: English Length: 52 minutes
Synopsis: The film follows Israeli Artist Zvi Lachman, during the decade 1998-2008. Lachman's sculptures and charcoal drawings involve processes of accumulation, addition, subtraction and erasure. Lachman's art is shaped by the tension between a liberal, secular worldview and between the religious roots of culture, between a universal and international consciousness and the demands of a local identity. American critic Geoffrey Hartman describes Lachman as "one of the best, if not the best sculptor working presently in Israel" (NY Arts).
ZITRA (tomorrow) - of truth and reconciliation Director: Judd Ne'eman (Winner of Israel Prize for Cinema) / Israel / Germany 2008 / 2009 Category: Arts Language: Hebrew, German, English, Czech. Subtitles: English / Spanish Length: 54 / 68 minutes
Synopsis: A Musical Documentary follows a group of young German and Israeli musicians & actors, working on a joined performance in German and Hebrew. The play is based on the memories of Manka Alter, a Holocaust survivor who was a lead singer in the Cabaret of Ghetto Terezin (Theresienstadt). Through Manka's memories, performed on stage by the young generation, the film raises philosophical questions on truth and reconciliation. The rehearsals and the staging of the cabaret are intertwined with the reenacting of the scenes from the play on the streets of Schwerin and Berlin.
ROSH GERANIUM Director: Amit Goren / Israel 2007 Category: Art Language: Hebrew. Subtitles: English Length: 85 minutes
Synopsis: Raffi Lavie, the Israeli painter, the art and classical music critic, is arguably the most influential cultural figure of his generation, an embodiment of the image of the "Sabra". The film follows Raffi Lavie, who had to give up the lease on his mythological apartment in Tel-Aviv, where he lived for 33 years with his wife Ilana and their children - when he is forced to reorganize his life, in order to relocate and begin yet another new phase in his life. Amit Goren's film makes Lavie's personality and art accessible, while remaining both entertaining and thought provoking.
Festivals & Awards:
FIFA International Festival of Films on Art, Montréal – Canada 2008
DeREEL Independent Film Festival, Melbourne - Australia 2008
Temps D'Images Film Award for Films on Art – Portugal 2008
Winner: Best Editing Award : Doc Aviv Documentary Film Festival - Israel 2007
SHEHERAZADE'S TEARS Director: Judd Ne'eman / Israel/Ukraine 2006 Category: Arts / Human Interest Language: Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Ukrainian. Subtitles: English Length: 81 minutes
Synopsis: Irina was a professional choreographer and dancer in the Ukraine . She moved to Israel twenty years ago after falling in love with a young Israeli Arab whom she met in Kiev . Irina teaches ballet dancing in an Arab village. She travels with her students, an Arab boy and a Jewish girl, who perform a piece from “Sheherazade” at the the Kiev youth ballet festival. They demonstrate her belief that where people can dance together they also can live together .
Festivals & Awards:
Winner: Platinum Remi Award : Worldfest Houston International Film Festival, Texas - USA 2007
Sole E Luna Doc Fest-Mediterranean & Islamic International Documentary Festival, Palermo- Italy 2007
Fipatel, FIPA International Festival of Audiovisual Programs, Biarritz - France 2007
Crossroads of Europe, International Documentary Film Festival, Lublin - Poland 2008
THE BALCONY Director: Ruth Walk / Israel 2000 Category: Culture Production: Yael Perlov Language: Hebrew. Subtitles: English / French Length: 54 minutes
Synopsis: ''The Balcony'' is the story of the 83-year-old Actor Israel Beker: a survivor from the Holocaust, a Painter, and the creator of the autobiography feature film Long is the Road (1946) in which he appears as himself in the leading role. Israel Beker's apartment's walls adorned with his paintings, represents the past. His balcony, like a stage in a new theatre overlooking the noisy street, anchors him to the present
Festivals & Awards:
International Forum of New Cinema Berlin Film Festival - Germany 2001
A ROOM OF YOUR OWN - WOMEN WRITERS A series of 5 documentary films about Israeli Women Writers Director: Ruth Walk Category: Culture. Production:Yael Perlov / Israel 2005-2010 Language: Various lengths. Subtitles: Hebrew. English
Synopsis: Almost 80 years after British author Virginia Woolf declared that a woman who wants to write needs money and a room of her own, two Israeli filmmakers set out to explore whether anything has changed since. The documentary series they have produced follows the daily routine of five female writers. The camera zooms in on the room, desk, laptop or typewriter of Ida Fink, Orly Castel-Bloom, Agi Mishol, Sarah Shilo , and Emunah Yaron (Agnon's daughter), In their modest homes. The "stars" of the series do not always have a room of their own. These women devote their lives to writing, for which the pen, paper and text are the center of their worlds. Whether they are poets or authors, writing is the essence of their lives, and stems from an existential necessity. Click to read more >
STAGE OF MIND Director: Niv Cohen and Dan Shanan / Israel 2005 Category: Arts / Society Language: Hebrew. English translation Length: 55 minutes
Synopsis: Two elderly Israeli actors ponder whether there is still a future for them in the acting world. Mordechai Ben-Zeev and Ruth Segal, two of the founders of the Haifa Theatre, deal with growing old as an actor with different perspectives. Both are still struggling to survive in this ''cruel and vicious'' profession as they define it.
Festivals & Awards:
Roma Art Doc Fest - Official Selection ''Theatre'' - Italy 2006
DocNZ International Documentary Film Festival - New Zealand 2005
SECONDS OF GLORY Director: Marco Carmel / Israel 2004 Category: Society & Ethnology Production: Zvi Shefy, David Zerif Language: Hebrew, Russian. Subtitles: English Length: 52 minutes
Synopsis: Hovering on the fringes of the film and TV industry in Israel is the world of the extras and 'bit' players - the small-time, amateur actors. The film follows the lives of three such characters over a period of time: Christina a new immigrant from the Ukraine, Solange a former actress and singer and Chovav "King of the Extras" who has appeared in every Israeli film made in the last 30 years.
Festivals & Awards:
Dignity and Work International Film Festival Gdansk - Poland 2008
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