Israel on cusp of winning first Oscar

February 25, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Entertainment, General, Israeliness, Life, Movies, Pop Culture 

Joseph Cedar, whose film Footnote is up for an Oscar on Sunday.

There may be lots of reasons to tune into the Academy Awards telecast on Sunday, among them Billy Crystal’s return as the show’s host. But don’t forget to pay special attention to the Best Foreign Language Film category, where once again, for the fourth time in five years, an Israeli entry is in the competition.

Despite it’s esoteric theme – a rivalry between two esteemed father and son Talmudic scholars, “Footnote,” by writer-director Joseph Cedar, was selected among entries from 63 countries to compete as one of the five Oscar finalists – and that’s because it’s a great film and Cedar is a great filmmaker, as anyone who saw his other Oscar entry Beaufort, can testify.

JTA interviewed Katriel Schory, the executive director of the Israel Film Fund, the body that funds Israeli moviemaking, about the huge leap Israeli cinema has made in the last decade or so, as witnessed by ongoing victories at prestigious international film festivals, as well as the Oscar nods. He cited the new generation of directors who learned their craft at one of the 14 film schools in the country, as well as their ingenuity and creativity at developing scripts and screenplays that don’t require big budgets.

“There are beautiful things about Israel and there are some ugly parts, like in any other country,” Schory said. “What our films show is that we are not just about CNN bulletins and newspaper headlines, but that we are a complex, multifaceted society. We are not a one-track country.”

So let’s enjoy the Oscars on Sunday, and if Footnote wins, we can also enjoy in the historical event of witnessing the first Israeli film to win the award. Our thoughts are with Mr. Cedar.

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Foto Friday – Timelapse Israel

February 24, 2012 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Entertainment, Foto Friday, General, Movies, Picture of the Week, Travel, tv 

Maybe it’s the geopolitical situation, maybe simply the truncated of month of February. Whatever the reason, it feels like time is moving faster and faster.

In previous columns, we’ve viewed Israel through the stereoscopic lens, through cyan and red 3D anaglyphs, 3D still images and even cutting-edge 3D video. Today, in keeping with our sense of time speeding up, we’ll look at Israel through the time-lapse photography lens.

Time-lapse photography, as Wikipedia has it, “is a cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing.”

Production company Highlight Films has created a 180-second tour of Israel…

Vitaly Viazovsky gives us Jerusalem scenes…

Time-lapse fascinates videographer Amos Rafaeli…

And videographer Eugene Azerbouf created this tour of Tel Aviv’s Yarkon River park…

Sunset Timelapse in Israel by videographer Carolyn Moreau is a 15 second video postcard captured this past winter in the Galilee…

You can read more about how Moreau took the shot on her blog. All Highlight Films footage available for licensing. Contact: archive@highlight.co.il.

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Israel puts on its cowboy hats for Antigone Rising

February 23, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, education, Entertainment, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, Politics, Pop Culture 

Who would have thought that some of the finest, most energetic rock & roll shows to take place in Israel in this still young year would come courtesy of the US State Department?

I guess they’re getting as fed up with dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat and the stalemate in Israeli and Palestinian progress as we are. But seriously, the cultural department of the American Embassy in Tel Aviv outdid themselves this week in hosting a State Department’s Cultural Envoy program featuring the talents of the all-female New York-based country-rockers Antigone Rising.

The New York-based quartet is the missing link that connects the quintessential Americana sounds of the Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow and Martina McBride with the spunky pop rock of 1980s all-female bands like The Bangles and The Go Gos. The results, according to the Allmusic.com’s assessment of their latest album 23 Red is “decidedly smooth adult pop” that’s “almost old-fashioned in its celebration of songcraft.”

As part of their whirlwind, weeklong visit to Israel, the band is giving free concerts and conducting workshops around the country. Slated appearances included performing for Jewish and Arab high school students at Kaye College in Beersheba and conducting workshops at Beit Issie Shapiro in Ra’anana, the Tabita school in Jaffa, and the Ni’lin village in the West Bank.

In addition, there are full-fledged free concerts in Jerusalem which took place on Tuesday and in Tel Aviv on Thursday night at the Rothschild 12 club in Tel Aviv. Then they move on to the West Bank, where Palestinians in Bethlehem and Ramallah will hopefully locate their inner country music roots and welcome the band with enthusiasm.

Appearing at the brand new and beautiful Meit Massie Theater in downtown Jerusalem on Tuesday night, they were phenomenal – despite a small turnout due to last-minute publicizing of the event. The 80 souls who did make it to the free show were treated to a standout performance, featuring three-part harmonies, great musicianship, showmanship and good cheer.

Speaking to the band and their manager afterwards, it was clear that they were enthralled to be in Israel for the first time.

“Our minds have been blown,” said bass player Kristen Henderson, who along with her lead guitar-playing sister Kathy, founded the band almost 20 years ago.

That’s Israel – our little mind-blowing country. But on the same count, if you want to have your mind blown, take advantage of the best free show you’ll ever have the privilege of attending – tonight in Tel Aviv.

Here’s a taste of Antigone Rising.

YouTube Preview Image

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Israel’s chocolate wars

February 22, 2012 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Blogging, Food, General, Israeliness, Life, Social Justice 

Having lived here a long time, I’ve gotten used to prices for certain consumer goods having no connection to reality – like the cost of automobiles, gas, deodorant, and imported Post Cranberry Almond Crunch cereal. Other aspects of living here make up for it, like paying arnona and dealing with our cell phone providers.

However, I was all for the cottage cheese revolution last summer which found the populace fed up with the price gouging of our big conglomerates. And thanks to that initiative, some of the prices of our cheese and milk products have indeed been lowered by companies like Strauss and Tnuva.

However, one Israeli who lives in the US wasn’t satisfied. He happened to be in a grocery store in New Jersey and saw a display of Israeli Pesek Zman chocolate bars (made by Strauss) being sold for 69 cents, about a third of what the hard-working Israeli chocolate lover pays for it here.

He posted a photo for his Facebook friends, and presto, the chocolate Watergate was flowing.

The news snowballed and the media, apparently unaware that we’re under an Iranian threat, reported that other chocolate bars manufactured by flagship Elite company (also owned surprisingly enough by Strauss) are also being sold at similarly low prices abroad.

Strauss said in a statement that it cannot control the price that retailers place on their products, and said it believed that the prices were lower in Jewish communities in the United States in advance of Purim.

Nonetheless, after sensational headlines and much chocolate binging, it’s been decided that a month-long boycott of Strauss and Elite chocolate bars is set to begin on March 1, just as we’re entering the chocolate-intensive week of Purim.

We’ve endured hardships before, from milk and egg shortages during the War of Independence to the more recent hummus shortage, which admittedly did cause some of us to crack. However a month without chocolate bars is tearing the Zionist dream at its fabric. We can only sacrifice so much.

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Whitney Houston’s Israel connection

February 19, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, Entertainment, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, Pop Culture, Religion, Travel 

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown meet Ariel Sharon in 2003 in Jerusalem. (Reuters)

The world bid farewell to American singing superstar Whitney Houston on Saturday, as TV newscasts, including in Israel, broadcast footage from her New Jersey funeral.

There’s been a soft spot for Houston in Israel ever since a visit she and her then-husband Bobby Brown made here in 2003, a stay that was at once endearing and surreal much like Houston in the last couple decades.

After Houston’s death, local media recalled the six-day visit, in which Houston and Brown met with the Black Hebrew community in Dimona, traveled to Eilat and the Galilee to a baptism spot and later met with then-prime minister Ariel Sharon, telling him that she felt at home in the country.

According to The Jerusalem Post’s account, Wearing bright red African clothing, Brown and Houston – who was then 39 – told Sharon they planned to come back and record a Christmas television special here – a promise she never fulfilled.

There were also reports that Houston was going to record an album with the Black Hebrews, who first settled in Israel in 1969 and became known for its gospel choirs and singing groups.

After Houston’s death, Ben Ammi Ben-Israel, the leader of the 2,500-strong Black Hebrews said on TV that he considered Houston his “spiritual daughter.” Ben-Israel said Houston was a source of pride for his community. He said he recently invited her back to Israel “to help her overcome her problem.”

However, that never took place either. And instead, all the Black Hebrews and the rest of Houston’s multitude of fans are left with is her rich catalogue of music and their memories of her.

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