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International Women's Film Festival to Take Place in Rehovot September 13-16, 2006
"For such a small country, Israel can't seem to get enough film festivals. A new one takes place almost every month, dedicated to some cinematic or geographic niche. In a typical year, film buffs can head out to Tel Aviv's documentary film festival (DocAviv), the Eilat International Film Festival, the Jerusalem film festival, and the Haifa film festival (just around the bend in October). Even quintessential periphery towns such as Sderot and Ashdod have their own film festivals. Now, the majority of filmmakers represented at these festivals are male. The third annual International Women's Film Festival, which takes place in Rehovot from September 13-16, hopes to raise the profile and the voice of women in cinema.
Encouraged by the success of last year's festival, which drew about 5,000 viewers, organizers have made it an annual tradition. The festival was launched three years ago by Anat Shperling, a journalist and director, and Naama Prizant, a film producer, to counter the disheartening statistics that give Israeli women filmmakers a low representation in the industry.
"If you open a newspaper and look at films playing, you find that two or three percent are done by women," says Shperling, artistic director of the festival and co-founder of the Women in Picture Association. "The perspective of women is different from that of men. We try to show the world as it is perceived by women in order to change society's thinking and conventions. We use cinema as a tool."
By bringing public attention to films by women, as well as encouraging professional dialogue among filmmakers, the founders hope to inspire and goad female filmmakers.
Shperling attributes the dearth of women filmmakers in part to the glass ceiling women encounter in many professions, as well as to the ambition of motherhood, which often supersedes professional goals.
It is only fitting, then, that a good portion of the short and long features, documentaries and animated films examine the themes of motherhood and mothering. According to Michal Aviad, artistic adviser of the festival, these films portray mothers as "complex, fascinating, autonomous characters. These films break away from the stereotypical vision of the mother as an almost mythical creature - a vision tainting most popular film."
A special program is dedicated to films by directors from the European Union. While some of these films date back to the 1990s, few have been shown in Israel. Among the most noteworthy are the German film Under the Ice about a mother's attempt to protect her child when his behavior leads to tragic consequences; the British film Mouth to Mouth about a teenager's entanglement with a street cult; and the documentary When Mother Comes Home for Christmas (Greece). The latter film, in addition to the Israeli film A Working Mom, follows the paradox of foreign workers who leave their children behind in their native country to make enough money to support them..."
Source: Orit Arfa. Women in Focus. JPost.com (7 September 2006) [FullText]
Encouraged by the success of last year's festival, which drew about 5,000 viewers, organizers have made it an annual tradition. The festival was launched three years ago by Anat Shperling, a journalist and director, and Naama Prizant, a film producer, to counter the disheartening statistics that give Israeli women filmmakers a low representation in the industry.
"If you open a newspaper and look at films playing, you find that two or three percent are done by women," says Shperling, artistic director of the festival and co-founder of the Women in Picture Association. "The perspective of women is different from that of men. We try to show the world as it is perceived by women in order to change society's thinking and conventions. We use cinema as a tool."
By bringing public attention to films by women, as well as encouraging professional dialogue among filmmakers, the founders hope to inspire and goad female filmmakers.
Shperling attributes the dearth of women filmmakers in part to the glass ceiling women encounter in many professions, as well as to the ambition of motherhood, which often supersedes professional goals.
It is only fitting, then, that a good portion of the short and long features, documentaries and animated films examine the themes of motherhood and mothering. According to Michal Aviad, artistic adviser of the festival, these films portray mothers as "complex, fascinating, autonomous characters. These films break away from the stereotypical vision of the mother as an almost mythical creature - a vision tainting most popular film."
A special program is dedicated to films by directors from the European Union. While some of these films date back to the 1990s, few have been shown in Israel. Among the most noteworthy are the German film Under the Ice about a mother's attempt to protect her child when his behavior leads to tragic consequences; the British film Mouth to Mouth about a teenager's entanglement with a street cult; and the documentary When Mother Comes Home for Christmas (Greece). The latter film, in addition to the Israeli film A Working Mom, follows the paradox of foreign workers who leave their children behind in their native country to make enough money to support them..."
Source: Orit Arfa. Women in Focus. JPost.com (7 September 2006) [FullText]
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