Commemoration, identity, family relationships, and borders in the geographical and mental sense – these are four momentous and highly complex themes in a country like Israel. The short films in the Country in Focus: Israel explore issues that illuminate the history and present of this still young nation: the historic premises of its existence, the ubiquitous conflicts on multiple fronts, the militarization of everyday life, and family relationships within this environment. The threat of war after war, curiosity about and sometimes identification with the «enemy», and questions about the significance of religion have shaped Israeli cinema, especially since the beginning of the new millennium. Next to Joseph Cedar, Ari Folman, Amos Gitai, and Nadav Lapid, one of the most uncompromising filmmakers in this respect has been Avi Mograbi, and unlike many of his (similarly) successful colleagues, he continues to make shorts as well as features. In «Detail 2 & 3», he shows two versions of the well-known checkpoint scene, which has become a central image of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians thanks to news reports. By forcing the soldiers to react and even yelling at them, the filmmaker transgresses the boundaries of an observing documentary – he becomes an actor within the action, which is additionally fuelled by the camera. Since the 1970s, Israeli cinema has increasingly addressed the state’s official politics and warfare with critical candour, and many recent works since 2007 have attracted considerable international attention, among them «Lebanon», «Waltz with Bashir», «Foxtrot», «Ajami», and series such as «Chatufim/Homeland» and «Fauda». While these features and series mostly take a relatively classical narrative approach, the short films presented here often push the boundaries of film genres. In addition, they explore the potentials of new digital media as creative sources, for instance Google Maps or Tinder («Unrendered Road», «The Men behind the Wall»). Digital reconstructions of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, in turn, open new avenues for historiography, legal processes, and ideas about reincarnation («Another Planet»).
Concurrently with digitalization, the Israeli short film industry also demonstrates an intense scrutiny of analogue material. Interestingly, the first films made in the state – and even before the nation’s founding – were also shorts: documentary footage. After «Départ de Jérusalem en fer», which the Lumiere brothers produced during the Ottoman era, the period through the 1950s was dominated by ethnographic footage of Christian pilgrims, on the one hand, and short films commissioned by Zionist organizations, on the other, with the latter emphasizing the need for a safe Jewish state in the wake of World War II. Immigrants from the Soviet Union such as Nathan Axelrod and Brits like Murray Rosenberg and Thorold Dickinson created the image of the new, proud Hebrew man – a masculine hero (removed from the shtetl). Memories of this metaphor are found in the 16 mm reels of the Lehi movement, which Nir Evron’s «Belated Measures» renders in digital form, contemplating the tensions between documentation, reenactment, and fiction.
The questioning of national narratives is a recurring motif in Israeli filmmaking. Divergent stories and explanations crystallize at symbolically charged locations, such as the building on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, where Ben Gurion declared the nation’s independence, or in objects like the ones Yael Bartana stages in her art videos. A trip to Israel’s miniature park («My Little Country»), in turn, is reminiscent of Matthias von Guntens unforgettable Swiss journey in «Reisen ins Landesinnere». One thing the narrative of the strong new Hebrews long suppressed was the trauma of Jewish immigrants who had either escaped persecution or survived the Shoah in hiding or in a concentration camp. The Eichmann trial played an important role in allowing public discussion of these experiences. The mass murderer was sentenced to death – but his ashes had to be taken outside the country: «Nacht und Nebel», an obvious allusion to Alain Resnais’ «Night and Fog», shows the distant echo of this event, like a coda.
Private photos and old home movies have become a popular source material in documentaries worldwide, linking family history with collective history. A recent example that was widely seen internationally is the Israeli-German production «Die Wohnung» by Arnon Goldfinger. Short films have also employed this type of research, and Meshy Koplevitch («73») and Rotem Dimand («The Silhouette of Braids») are among the young filmmakers addressing the past of their father and mother, respectively. After the LGBTQ scene, which has entered the Israeli mainstream since 2002 with films by Eytan Fox and Tomer Heymann, women are also staking out their place in Israel’s still male-dominated art and society. At the same time, the family unit in general increasingly yields to a focus on mother-daughter relationships. Women are under a lot of pressure, as they are still primarily expected to be or become good mothers. Meanwhile, the possibility of a lesbian life («Bracha», «One of Us Now»), for instance, tends to be ignored or considered irrelevant.
Bettina Spoerri
Reflections on IdentityThe programme Reflections on Identity is a chronologically structured search for the meaning of identity. While religious, ethnic, and territorial belonging determine identity for some, others look to the ever-changing socio-cultural situation to define their sense of identity.
The documentary footage of the historic short film «Palestine» from 1920 takes the perspective of Christian pilgrims on their journey to the «Promised Land», where Abraham – the patriarch of Judaism and prophet of Christianity and Islam – went at the behest of God. It is a fertile land steeped in history, where various communities – Arabs, Jews, Bedouins – live side-by-side.
The title «Rothschild 16» of Noam Israel’s film refers to the address where Ben Gurion declared the independence and founding of the state of Israel on 14 May 1948 – an event that signified salvation to some, and a disaster, the «Nakba», for others. The inconspicuous building in the heart of Tel Aviv is a run-down museum today. The film follows tour guides who take visitors through the building, each telling the history in their own way, ascribing divergent meanings to it. With her observation, the director paints a multifaceted picture of the culture of commemoration.
On 11 April 1961, thirteen years after the founding of the state, the Eichmann trial began in Jerusalem. Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was convicted of crimes against the Jewish people, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, sentenced to death, and executed on 31 May 1962. The following night, a group of police officers scattered his ashes in the Mediterranean, outside of Israeli territory. Dani Gal’s film «Nacht und Nebel» is based on an interview with Holocaust survivor Michael Goldmann, who was one of the police officers on board the ship. Mixing reenactment and fiction, the formally rigorous film conveys the significance of this event and its historic context.
In her essay film «One of Us Now», Maya Steinberg visits Meron's holy sites in search of an explanation for her father’s newfound religiosity. Her research is a personal and authentic exploration of Judaism between secularity and orthodoxy, tradition and modernity.
In «My Little Country», director Yael Danon presents a fitting metaphor for the issue of Israeli identity: the film centres on Tanja, an immigrant from Moldova, who works as a model builder at the miniature park Mini Israel. As she takes care of the park’s buildings, she reflects on her own sense of belonging as an Israeli citizen.
Curated by John Canciani and Gabriela Seidel-Hollaender
with the kind support of: 
