Lights, camera, Shalom
Academy Award nominee Waltz With Bashir
But one area where the local film industry hasn’t done so well is in attracting foreign film producers to shoot their movies here. It’s a shame, because Israel has such cinematic locations – the beach, the desert, the Golan, the old cities of Jerusalem and Acre.
But until now, it’s been too expensive to bring a huge crew and equipment over, so foreign productions have been few and far between. I was an extra once in 1988 in Appointment with Death, an adaption of an Agatha Christie novel, starring Peter Ustinov, Sir John Gielgud and my personal favorite, David (Starsky) Soul that was filmed in Jerusalem. My portrayal of a British soldier in Palestine circa 1930s did irreparable damage to the reputation of Israeli actors, and since then, we’ve been suffering.
Even Adam Sandler’s Zohan filmed the scenes that are supposedly in Israel in some other location like Hawaii.
But now, things may change. The Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry has announced that Israel will offer foreign film producers tax breaks of 20 percent if they collaborate with Israeli production companies.
The announcement was made a day ahead of the opening of the Cannes Film Festival, and one of the sessions there featuring producers will focus on Israel as a location for making movies and TV shows. The ministry will also man a booth at the festival distributing pamphlets listing the advantages of filming here.
The Jerusalem Post reported that according to the pamphlet to be distributed at Cannes, Israel has several selling points: a vast pool of actors and extras of varying ethnicities representing more than 100 countries, many different types of locations within easy driving distance, and 120 production companies, 10 production studios and 30 post-production facilities.
Israeli producer Gal Uchovsky, the business partner of director Eytan Fox (Walk on Water, The Bubble) said that he was pleased with the move.
“Countries [that] have offered such incentives drew a lot of producers. Morocco and Ireland, for example, have made a lot of effort to draw in foreign filmmakers and it has paid off.
“This is a very good financial decision. It will provide an income for much of the local industry and will raise the local industry’s standards,” said Uchovsky.
We may not see Brad and Angie here tomorrow, but hopefully the government decision will help Israelwood get off the ground.
Waltz with Bashir snubbed in LA
Filed under: A New Reality, Art, General, Movies, Pop Culture
Conventional wisdom unequivocally asserted that the only Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee to hold a candle to Waltz with Bashir was France’s The Class – but that even that movie was hardly as technically groundbreaking or thematically poignant as Israel’s nominee. Regardless, The Academy instead gave the award to Japan’s Departures (pictured in all of its smirking glory).
Bashir therefore joins a long list of Israel-made Oscar losers that includes Sallah Shabati and HaShoter Azoulay.
When Joseph Cedar’s Beaufort failed to take home a statuette a year ago, the director was gracious and stoic, putting the situation in the proper context. He even went so far as to give The Jerusalem Post the ultimate cliché Oscar loser soundbyte:
[Cedar] seemed to keep his hopes in check at a symposium prior to the ceremony, saying he was “happy just to have been nominated. I’m not even thinking about winning.”
….”We have shown that Israel can make very good movies,” Beaufort actor Eli Eltonyo told the cheering crowd [at a post-Oscars party], “and we will prove it again next time.”
Next time was earlier this week, but Eltonyo’s prediction didn’t come to fruition – at least not as fully as he might have hoped. But Bashir‘s creative team was hardly as gracious as Beaufort‘s was. The jPost caught up with director Ari Folman after the show:
“It’s a game,” Folman said, shrugging. “It’s 500 anonymous voters, and I don’t know a single one.”
He said he planned to drink the night away before getting on a plane home to Israel.
“I’ll be glad to be done with all of this traveling, though I am going to miss it in a few months – but right now I just want to go home and be with my kids,” Folman told the Post.
Back here in Israel, the rest of the Bashir team was even more disappointed, as Haaretz notes:
Nitzan Roiy, in charge of composing and special effects, stayed in his chair.
“It’s horrible,” he said. “When we came here we were sure we had it in our hand. It’s a shame.”
…. “We were very confident before the ceremony,” said Neta Holzer, one of the animators who joined the Israeli delegation to Los Angeles. “We didn’t talk about winning, but we had a very good gut feeling. Everyone is disappointed, but we’re getting used to it.”
With so many great movies continuing to come out of our local industry, we can all comfort ourselves by saying, “There’s always next year.” At least that;s what the good sports among us will say.
Waiting to see if Bashir wins
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Movies, Pop Culture, War
Anticipation is already building in Israel today, as people across the country wait to discover if the Israeli movie Waltz with Bashir will win an Oscar at tonight’s ceremony in Los Angeles.
Certainly things look pretty good for the critically acclaimed movie by Ari Folman. It’s already won a string of prestigious awards – from a Golden Globe to an award for the best documentary from the Writers Guild of America, and gambling Web sites are predicting that the Israeli contender for the best foreign film is the most likely of all the entries to win the award.
Critics have also indicated that the movie, which deals with Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, is their favorite for the prize as – aside from its moving and powerful story – it also breaks new cinematic ground. Critic David Carr, from The New York Times, urged readers to “Put a nickel on Bashir, and keep it there.”
We all love it here when an Israeli film (musician, artist, model etc. etc.) makes good. Last year hopes were high for Beaufort, another moving anti-war film also set in Lebanon, but it was pipped at the post.
For all the success of Folman’s movie, however, there are rumblings of discontent amongst certain sectors of society who feel this, the eighth Israeli Oscar contender, but the one most likely to win, is an anti-Israeli movie.
Folman’s effort to piece together his memories as a combat soldier of the Lebanon War, and particularly the massacre at the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camp in Beirut, are regarded as unjustly demonizing Israel.
Stung by the criticism, one of the film’s backers, the US Foundation for Jewish Culture and Makom, has put out a study guide explaining why the film isn’t unfair. The guide is based on Israel’s own investigation into Sabra and Shatilla, gives the history of the battle, and charts its aftermath.
But why does criticism of Israel’s actions or behavior in a war have to be anti-Israeli? Folman’s film, like Joseph Cedar’s Beaufort before it, is a profound attempt by a soldier to examine a very painful part of his own history and that of his country. It’s soul-searching at its deepest level. And what it reveals about Israel is that this soul searching, doubt and regret is a fundamental part of who we are.
In the media, particularly during the Gaza war, but in many wars and conflicts, Israel is often portrayed as a militaristic nation that doesn’t really give a damn about who gets hurt. Films like Beaufort, and Waltz with Bashir, may not be easy viewing, but they show a completely different truth.
Golden Globe for Waltz with Bashir
Bashir still dancing
Sabra subtitles
Ever ponder seeing an Israeli film, but wind up too intimidated by the choice of what’s out there? There are some great cinematic experiences available, and Jewish film festivals and repertory theaters in the US and Europe are increasingly screening blue and white movies. Heck, we almost won an Academy Award last year for Beaufort.
So, now’s the time, if you haven’t already, to familiarize yourself with the increasingly excellent creations coming out of our new generation of filmmakers. Luckily, there’s a handy blog out there that’s providing some insight into the industry, the films, the stories and the directors – and it’s written by a true expert in the field.
Amy Kronish’s Israelfilm is constantly growing its database of thoughtful, in depth postings on Israeli films, and Amy knows what she’s talking about. She served for 15 years as the curator of Jewish and Israeli Film at the Jerusalem Cinematheque/Israel Film Archive and established the Cinematheque’s Jewish Film Festival. She’s also the author of two books on Israeli film – “World Cinema: Israel and co-author of Israeli Film: A Reference Guide.
One of the nice things about the blog is that it’s not only about newly released movies, but standout films that have been out there for a while that may deserve a second look. A recent post delved into the fine Dror Shaul film Sweet Mud, which was a prize winner at the Berlin Film Festival in 2006.
This film is a study of kibbutz members’ difficulties in coping with one woman’s weakness and instability, and Kronish provides some insightful background to the issue – which is natural, because another field of her expertise is lecturing on contemporary issues of Israeli society as seen through film.
Israeli films keep getting better and better, so don’t let a silly thing like language dissuade you from exploring what’s out there. Let Israelfilm be your guide as you take the plunge.
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