Three short films give profound glimpses of Israeli life April 13
By Jewish Review
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Portland Hadassah and Urban Jews PDX team up April 13 to present three short films directed by Israeli Film Students from Hadassah College Jerusalem.
The films—“A Dream of Mother,” directed by Chava Schein; “Nitzan,” directed by Oded Raz; and “Ud,” directed by Uri Shapira—will be shown at Laurelhurst Theater and Pub, 2735 E. Burnside St. Doors open at noon for the 12:30 showing. Concessions, including food and alcoholic beverages, will be available. Since alcohol is available, all attendees must be at least 21 years old. Admission is $5.
“Watching the films, I was impressed with the profound statements made by students in 20 to 30 minute segments,” said organizer Deborah Popper, who choose the three films from the nine or so offered to Hadassah chapters across the country. “It was actually hard to decide between them. The first film shows us a glimpse of the resettling experience for new Israelis. A young woman who came to Israel as a child is reunited with her mother when she arrives from Ethiopia to resettle in Israel.”
Active in both Hadassah and Urban Jews, Popper said, “This is an opportunity to share just a piece of what each organization has to offer with the larger community.”
“Hadassah is a dynamic organization that adapts to the changing needs in Israel and here in America, providing and promoting comprehensive and accessible health care for all, youth services, education, and environmental stewardship, and then sharing these resources with the international community particularly when and where there is hardship,” said Popper.
Urban Jews PDX is an informal social network that sponsors and publicizes events on Jewish themes for young Jewish adults in their 20s and 30s.
The program will be moderated by Professor Robert Liebman, who teaches Portland State University Judaic Studies and Sociology courses. He will focus what the films can teach us about culture, said Popper.
Film descriptions
A Dream of Mother: The film follows Dasesh’s story. Dasesh is a 19-yer-old Ethiopian girl living in Israel with her father and stepmother. For five years she has been dreaming of the arrival of her biological mother from Ethiopia. We join her as she anticipates the reunion and finally gets to embrace her mother again. The intensely emotional reunion finally takes place at Ben Gurion airport in Israel. However, after her dream is realized, great difficulties await the relationship. The time lapsed and the cultural gaps stand as obstacles between the two. Finally, the cold feelings between Dasesh and her mother convince her to return to the home of her father and stepmother and look for a new dream. Documentary, 2000, 27 minutes.
Nitzan: Nitzan, an independent, lively and very mixed up 26-year-old, awaits the discharge of her boyfriend, Yariv from the army. He is the one stable thing in her life. Yariv dreamt of a life together with Nitzan in greener pastures, however, a very promising job offer from the army together with his fear of changes keeps him in the army. A telephone call that wakes Nitzan in the middle of the night changes her life and she faces a new reality, with a diagnosis of breast cancer. Can she keep living her life the way she did until now? Fiction, 2003, 32 minutes.
Ud: An Israeli music band of three musicians are driving together to a concert in the Jordan Valley at the beginning of the “El Aksa” riots. The driver decides to take a different route and they find themselves in the West Bank. Meanwhile a Palestinian family is trying to find a solution between the mental pain of the small child, Sami, the anger of an older child, Halil who was detained at an Israeli roadblock and the clemency of the father, Ibrahim. As a result of a shooting event, the musicians find themselves in this Palestinian family’s house. Between the Jewish members there is a conflict—should they wait in the house or should they call the police. Yaki, the drummer wants to get out of the house as his friends George and Rami want to wait in the house. The situation becomes even tenser when members of the Arab village begin to gather around the house and demand to lynch the Jews. Sami, the young child, and George the Ud player, find a way to link the two sides together, where words seem to fail and music becomes a solution. The film was supported by the “Mifal Hapais” fund for young creators and The Miki Albin Fund (Second place at the script contest 1/05/02). Fiction, 2003, 18 minutes.