SAN FRANCISCO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL | SFJFF 2010

Israel as a nation is far younger than motion pictures; in fact, its modern identity has been formed in parallel with the medium of film. Israeli films, when seen unfolding over time as they do in this engrossing retrospective documentary, reveal a cinematic national identity that encapsulates the emotional reality of a country often torn by ethnic, religious and political conflicts.

Award-winning filmmaker Raphaël Nadjari (Tehilim, SFJFF 2008) weaves together in-depth research and extraordinary film clips spanning more than 60 years to give us a kaleidoscopic visual retelling of the history of a national cinema. Dividing his film chronologically, Nadjari has crafted an assemblage of fascinating interviews with leading Israeli actors, producers, film critics, scholars and filmmakers, laced with film sequences spanning early silent films to the present-day renaissance of the Israeli film industry. Part One begins in 1933 with visions of the Zionist dream and takes us to 1978, when themes of memory and loss share the spotlight. The second part, from 1978 to 2005, vibrantly depicts the wave of political films from the 1980s contrasted to the more personal cinema of today. Interviewees include Amos Gitai, Joseph Cedar, Avi Mograbi, Yehuda Ne’eman, Menachem Golan, Moshe Ivgy, Ronit Elkabetz and Zeev Revach. A “must see” for any fan of Israeli cinema and a fabulous introduction for the uninitiated.
—Janis Plotkin

Note: The film will be screened with a brief intermission.

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