Jews On Film

Skip the multiplex and join the sophisticated crowd

by Ilana Gatoff

Watching a movie Saturday night is fairly common. The school week is long and exhausting, renting a movie or heading out to the nearest theatre makes for good entertainment. But how often do we actually think about the movies we’re going to see? What do they mean to us? Do they help us grow, teach us about the world? Films have the power to dramatically introduce us to another point of view, paint a clear picture of history and highlight the simple human connections that make us relate to the characters we meet in film.

Not to say that every movie needs a deeper purpose, but many of the contemporary movies that are playing in theatres today are fun, but easily forgotten. The films

playing at the Westchester Jewish Film Festival in Pleasantville —from March 26 - April 17 — offer movie lovers the opportunity to view some amazing pieces, learn something about Israel and better understand the complexities of Jewish and Israeli cultures.

The festival is run by the Jacob Burns Film Center, a nonprofit organization devoted to film and education, in Westchester. The organization has been running this festival every year since the center’s opening in 2001. It is the center’s single most-attended event, attracting a crowd of about 5,000 festival-goers in 2007.

The selection committee chose 23 out of more than 400 films to screen at this year’s festival. Included are a range of Israeli films such as “Beaufort” — an Oscar nominee and a powerful story about the Lebanon war — and films from other countries such as England’s “Sixty Six” about a boy whose bar mitzvah falls on the same day as the 1966 World Cup.

I had the opportunity to watch two of the films that will play in this year’s festival. “Black Over White,” directed by Tomer Heymann, is a documentary that follows the Israeli music group, the Idan Raichel Project, as they journey to Ethiopia. The group is an eclectic Israeli pop phenomenon led of course by Idan Raichel. Their record went triple platinum in Israel and has caught the attention of many teens in the tri-state area due to their entrancing songs and frequent New York appearances.

The Idan Raichel Project is compromised of a diverse array of musicians all living in Israel but originating from different cultures. The group’s diversity emphasizes the equality of people from different heritages and celebrates the diversity of Israel’s population. The film follows the band as they travel from Israel to perform in Ethiopia.
The audience watches as Avi returns home after many years to the friends and family he left behind and confronts his decision to immigrate to Israel. It’s painful to see him struggle with his connection to his native country and come to terms with what he has left behind.

Another singer in the group, Kabra, made aliyah from Ethiopia as a baby and does not remember the country or know the language. Although she considers herself an Israeli the racism in Israel hurts her and she can’t help feeling more comfortable in a place where she is not seen as being different and apart due to the color of her skin. The film makes the audience face the difficult realization that Israel is not as welcoming as it might seem and expands the definition of what it means to be Jewish.

“Six Days,” an Israeli film by Ilan Ziv, is about the 1967 Six-Day War. This documentary traces this pivotal war with a fast pace, alternating between Israeli and Egyptian viewpoints as it attempts to properly set the scene to retell history. It tells of Israel’s strength, the downfall of Egyptian dreams and the aftermath that would lead to the bitter tensions between Palestinians and Israelis that the country confronts today.
Prior to seeing this film I did not have detailed knowledge of events which preceded the war and how the war unfolded. I had a preconceived notion of the Six-Day War as an event when many countries ganged up on a weak Israel and Israel miraculously prevailed against their aggressors. This film definitely dispelled many of those notions setting the scene for a war in which Israel always had the military capacity to triumph and telling me a story I had never been taught in school. It also told the Egyptian side of the story, a perspective that I had never heard before.

Films can be incredibly educational, teaching us about new things in an interesting manner. Living as American Jews it is difficult to comprehend real life in Israel. Everything we are taught or seen in the media is told through another’s perspective. These films, and others in the festival’s line up, offer the Israeli point of view. The viewers are educated by stories told through Israeli eyes. These films help us better understand the residents of the country that plays a significant role in our Jewish identities.

So in the next three weeks instead of going to Loews, I strongly recommend that you see a film at the festival. It will be different and more thought-provoking than the usual movie fare. Student tickets are available for $8 with a valid ID, much cheaper than the $11 and more you pay at the multi-plex.

For details on the festival check out www.burnsfilmcenter.com.
Ilana Gatoff is a senior at Salanter Akiba Riverdale High School in the Bronx.

Westchester Jewish Conference

Westchester’s Jewish Community Relations Organization