Curator of the program, Yasmin Kainy:
“Poetry is escapism in this period of time” says one of the guests of the poet Nir Strauss in his film “The Poet’s Room”, one of 13 poetry films that make up this year’s program.
I don’t know if he’s right, but something in this difficult period sparked the urge for many creators to express themselves, and so this year we were flooded with pulsating and fascinating works, and that’s why our program is full of new films, most of which were made right now and they provide an opportunity to process the deep sadness, the The worry and other emotions that overwhelm most of those who have lived here since October 7th.
The Films:
I Am You
Israel 2023,6 min.
Experimental
Director and Producer: Yuval Amir
“It’s a long time since I’ve heard from you
I haven’t received even a little piece of paper.”
At the film I Am You, we meet Yoav. A guy in his twenties who has just gone through a crisis. he’s distant from the outside world, isolated and drawn into his books and into himself. He finds it difficult to carry out the basic activities of daily life and has difficulty getting up. As time passes, and Yoav sinks more into the void, girls from the floor above decide to play a prank on him. The prank they see as funny turns out to be one that will bring Yoav back into the light.
Home
Israel 2024 3:10 min
Experimental
Director and Producer: Shiry Price
What is the meaning of home? With this foundational question we went filming this video in Kfar Aza in the summer of 2021. Two years later, during one of the sleepless nights after the horrific massacre I rewatched the materials that lay in the drawer. My heart missed a beat.
A dancer walks alongside a metal fence, wearing a long black dress. She mourns the home she had lost. Within her movements appears a poem, encompassing the memory of the past. The video concludes with a drawing I made with my son, reimagining Kfar Aza with the hope of tomorrow.
AT NIGHTS I SOUGHT
Israel 2024, 6:00 min
Fiction
Director: Sari Azoulay Turgeman
Producer: Lihi Nachmani
“At nights I sought” is a poetry film which proposes a female interpretation of 2 verses from the Song of Songs: “On my bed at nights, I sought him whom my soul loves: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise, and go about the city in the streets and in the market places I will seek him whom my soul loves.” Rona, 25, doesn’t look for a man’s love but after her image disappeared from the mirror, she looks for herself.
Windswept Mountain
Israel 2024 5 min.
Documentary
Director: NINO HERMAN
Producer: AVIGAIL GRAETZ
The film presents a free interpretation of ‘Daniel’s vision’ – An ancient Jewish prophecy describing the reign of a mysterious metal beast.
In the film, the beast becomes a hybrid creature, representing an extensive system of historical and contemporary subjects – such as Jerusalem Syndrome, religion, prophecy, disease, photography, media, virtual existence, and public space policing.
Decryption
Israel 2023, 12:26 min.
Experimental
Director and Producer: Maya Zack
Zack reconstructs the fading memory of her mother’s body, who died prematurely. Zack’s own experience of motherhood inspired “Decryption” which depicts a magical-poetic rite in the chain of inter-generational transmission between daughters and mothers, real and spiritual. Zack seeks to decipher the alchemy of memory and oblivion and to answer our fear of being forgotten and our inevitable death.
Vietnam
Israel 2022, 2 min
Fiction
Director and Producer: Jonathan Bar Giora
A composed and filmed version for Wislawa Szymborska’s poem – Vietnam. Lilach Caspi, who plays and sings the role of the woman – is the only one who appears in the rough and grainy video. Jonathan Bar Giora, who composed and performed the role of the soldier – can only be heard in the soundtrack, as a kind of interrogator behind a screen. The only cinematic “event” that occurs in the video is the averting of the woman’s eyes, upon hearing the last question, the most terrifying of all.
The poet’s writing room
Israel 2023 9:45min.
Experimental
Directors: Gal Salomon and Nir Strauss
Producer: Nir Strauss
The documentary “The Poet’s Writing Room” captures actor and poet Nir Strauss during an impromptu performance with fans. The static camera intimately films Strauss composing and punctuating a new poem live, drawing inspiration from the audience’s reactions. We witness the spontaneity and inspiration of Strauss’s creative process – his expressions, gestures, voice. The audience’s responses add to the creative energy. The poem created is a collaborative effort between Strauss and the audience. This rare glimpse into the bustling creative space of the poet allows us to experience the excitement of live poetic creation.
That’s Where I’m Going
Israel 2024,6:02 min.
Experimental
Director and Producer: Lily Rattok
The short and enigmatic video work – “That’s where I’m going” is based on a text which the Brazilian national writer, Clarice Lispector 1920-1977, wrote.
Lispector was born in Ukraine to a Jewish family that survived the pogrom. Her impressive work, poetic and feminist elements stand out.
The enigmatic design of the open space, and the lighting emphasize the mystery of the occurrence.
The Photography, performance, directing and music characterize her agitated inner world. The short excerpt from the last and rare interview of Clarice Lispector near her death ends the work with the creator’s heartbreaking words with a background of a photograph with her impressive figure.
Poet fights
Israel 2024 8 min.
Experimental
Director and producer: Gili Danon
A poetic duel between two poets, which reflects the internal struggle that takes place in the soul of the creator. It begins at an evening of poetry reading in Tel Aviv and ends in the heart of the forest with the poem "The obvious" by Gili Danon. Featuring poets Yehezkel Nefshi and Danon portraying themselves.
“The obvious” is taken from the book “Benevolent spirit”.
Story City
Israel 2021, 6 min.
Experimental
Director and Producer: Ben Hantkant
The film presents a free interpretation of ‘Daniel’s vision’ – An ancient Jewish prophecy describing the reign of a mysterious metal beast.
In the film, the beast becomes a hybrid creature, representing an extensive system of historical and contemporary subjects – such as Jerusalem Syndrome, religion, prophecy, disease, photography, media, virtual existence, and public space policing.
A Moment in the Weeds
Israel 2024 1:44 min.
Experimental
Director and Producer: Dana Goldberg
Words from a mother to her son, from a mother about her son,
Who’s there, or sleeping, or gone.
Dawn
Israel 2022, 3 min.
Animation
Director and Producer: Michael Jacob
Dawn – An animated film made entirely from Charcoal paintings under a DSLR camera. Ghosts of a city’s machines wake to return from the nature to a dying city- Beastly chimeras made from the waste left behind by a human civilization. They attract towards the city in a search for a final resting place to end their existence and purify nature from humanity.
The Silent Observers
Israel 2022, 7:20 min
Experimental
Director and Producer: Micha Amitai
Meir’s days and nights are a madhouse. Shell Shocked. Mentally wounded. The dead visit him day and night, especially late at night during his insomnia. Meir was injured while serving his country as a soldier but he asks for nothing from the society that abandoned him. His silent cry will only be heard through the voice of the “Silent Observer” from Kieslowski’s Dekalog films. The “Silent Observer” that whispers his cry using Wislawa Szymborska’s words. Can the foreign words break the silence of the indifferent observers? The Israeli society?
