{"id":25618,"date":"2013-04-21T03:48:22","date_gmt":"2013-04-21T10:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=25618"},"modified":"2013-04-28T23:36:27","modified_gmt":"2013-04-29T06:36:27","slug":"tel-aviv-arts-council-israeli-cinema-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=25618","title":{"rendered":"Tel Aviv Arts Council Israeli Cinema Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cinema is arguably the most reliable and comprehensive entree into contemporary Israeli culture. But the twin challenges of language and location (particularly with the classics: if there is anyone than can help me track down a subtitled disc of Dizengoff 99, I\u2019d be more than grateful…) often hinder accessibility. These barriers lend the forthcoming Israeli Cinema Series, the latest initiative of the Tel Aviv Arts Council, an especial relevance.<\/p>\n

\"yossi<\/a><\/p>\n

The first screening in the series, the genre-breaking Yossi & Jagger<\/em>, will set the template, Jay Schultz hopes, for a new and welcome paradigm for engagement with the arts. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping to connect the next generation of arts patrons in Tel Aviv with the best of Israeli creative culture, both established and emerging\u201d he says. Shultz, a transplanted American who describes the Tel Aviv Arts Council as a \u201cnon-profit PR agency for Israeli culture\u201d argues that for non-Hebrew speakers \u2013 Olim, diplomats and NGO staff, and professionals working in Israel \u2013 an important contextual component for appreciating what Israel is actually about is missing from the non-Hebrew conversation. \u201cIt\u2019s important to appreciate that the (much-vaunted) creativity of Israel\u2019s high-tech industry, for example, grows from arts and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a valid point. Israel has a diverse, imaginative arts scene, intertwined with the fabric of Israeli identity. But much of this depth and subtlety can be lost to the non-native Israeli, and there are few opportunities to broaden one\u2019s scope. The Tel Aviv Arts Council has tried to change this by organising a series of cultural encounters over the last year, introducing patrons to the best of Tel Aviv and Israeli arts culture \u2013 recent events include a reception at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and a performance of the Batsheva Dance Company \u2013 but also the opportunity to featured artists to place creative impulses within a broader context, what Shultz describes as the \u201cvalue added\u201d component of the initiative.<\/p>\n

Yossi & Jagger<\/em>, which kicks off The Israeli Cinema Series, is an exemplar in this respect. Screenwriter Avner Bernheimer will join the screening to talk about his 2002 film (directed by Eytan Fox, who went on to direct Walk on Water<\/em> and the recent Bananot<\/em>) about the ill-fated love affair between two soldiers serving in the Israeli Army. It gives interesting insight into social mores about homosexuality, especially given the dominant \u201cdon\u2019t ask, don\u2019t tell\u201d imperative of the time. Shultz expects the series to slot into a monthly routine, with the next screening scheduled to be held in conjunction with May\u2019s DocAviv International Documentary Film Festival. \u201cFilm can give a deep insight into the fabric of Israeli society,\u201d Shultz says. This particular viewer couldn\u2019t agree more.<\/p>\n

Yossi & Jagger<\/em> will be screened at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque on 24\/4, at 8.30pm. Tickets and more information at http:\/\/telavivartscinematheque.eventbrite.com<\/a>. More information about the Tel Aviv Arts Council can be found on Facebook, and at www.telavivarts.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cinema is arguably the most reliable and comprehensive entree into contemporary Israeli culture. But the twin challenges of language and location (particularly with the classics: if there is anyone than can help me track down a subtitled disc of Dizengoff 99, I\u2019d be more than grateful…) often hinder accessibility. These barriers lend the forthcoming Israeli […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25618\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}