David Ofek – Documentary Film Series
Aug 2-5, 4 p.m. @Lichthaus Kino
This year, we are delighted to present the films of documentary filmmaker and Ophir Prize winner David Ofek.
Born in Israel in 1968, Ofek graduated from the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem. He has been making documentary films since the 1990s, and has received numerous prizes for his work. In his documentaries, Ofek applies a technique borrowed from the world of the radio play, creating new interconnections and perspectives by interweaving and juxtaposing fiction and reality.
The daily screenings will be accompanied by an introduction and discussion moderated by Shoshana Liessmann (Ludwig Maximilian University).
Prizes and Awards:
2008 Wolgin Award, Jerusalem Film Festival (IL) /// Award winner for a movie up to 60 min, The Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum (IL)
2006 Award for documentaries series, Israeli Film Academy (IL) /// Award winner, documentary competition, Jerusalem Film Festival (IL) /// Gerhard Klein Audience Award, Berlin Jewish Film Festival (D)
2003 Ophir Award for documentary, Israeli Academy of Film and Television /// Special prize of the jury, Hotdocs - Canadian International Documentary Festival (CDN) /// Best Film Award, Syracuse Film Festival (USA) /// International Press Award, Documentary Festival Chicago (USA) /// Best Director Award, Anonimul Festival (RO)
Double Feature
Home & Luxuries
Aug 2 Wed 4 p.m. @Lichthaus Kino
Admission: 8 €/5 €
Reservations: post@lichthaus
Home
Director: David Ofek
Running time: 17 min
Language: Hebrew
Subtitles: English
Production: Jerusalem Film & Television School (1995, IL)
David Ofek looks back on the first Gulf War, when he was living with his parents in Ramat Gan, Israel. They are Iraqi Jews. His parents are fascinated with news reports of the bombing of Baghdad. His grandmother comes to stay with them during the SCUD attacks. Wearing gas masks, they sit in a secure room David has rigged. When the all-clear sounds, they look at photo albums. They're visited by David's girlfriend, Eve. They talk politics; grandma disapproves of Eve. Eve leaves for Eilat for respite. David images a life with Eve after the war ends.
Luxuries
Director: David Ofek
Running time: 54 Min
Language: Hebrew
Subtitles: English
Production: Edna Kowarsky, Elinor Kowarsky (2011, IL)
An elusive “coordinator”; vague formulas that calculate “survival capacity”; warehouses crammed with rotting goods and donkeys dressed up as zebras – all these are part of a mosaic-like, surreal reality in which evil and stupidity merge.
Director David Ofek takes the viewer on a journey to the absurd front of the Israeli “blockade on Gaza,” revealing the consequences of a policy that limits the flow of goods into Gaza.
No 17 is Anonymous
Aug 3 Thu 4 p.m. @Lichthaus Kino
Admission: 8 €/5 €
Reservations: post@lichthaus.de
Director: David Ofek
Running time: 75 Min
Language: Hebrew
Subtitles: English
Production: Cinephil (2003, IL)
After a car packed with explosives struck a bus in June 2002 at Meggido Junction near Tel Aviv, 16 of the 17 victims were accounted for. The sole unidentified victim of this suicide attack was buried a few weeks later, anonymously. The police stopped searching, believing that he must have been a foreign worker.
“No. 17 is Anonymous” documents, over a period of six months, the search for the identity of a man whose body was badly mutilated and whom no one claimed missing. The film is also a record of the stories of several people who were affected directly or indirectly by the bombing. Just when it seems the investigation has reached a dead end, a vague lead suddenly appears.
A Hebrew Lesson
Aug 4 Fri 4 p.m. @Lichthaus Kino
Admission: 8 €/5 €
Reservations: post@lichthaus.de
Directors: David Ofek, Ron Rotem
Running time: 122 min
Languages: English, Hebrew, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, German
Subtitles: English
Production: Eden Productions (2006, IL)
"Learning Hebrew has been central to establishing one‘s personal identity and sense of collective belonging. Language transcends political, religious and ideological divisions; it is what unites and coalesces the different parts of society." (The Jewish Agency pamphlet for Hebrew Ulpan teachers)
Chin left her daughter in China and came to Israel to make a living. She cleaned Ehud's house, and they fell in love. Sasha never considered immigrating to Israel, but four years after his woman left Russia with their daughter, he understood that life without his child is worthless. He left a thriving business behind only to find himself in Tel Aviv‘s worst neighborhood. Marisol grew up as a “Jewish Princess” in Lima, Peru and came to Israel to learn something about life. An unexpected pregnancy alters her plans. These and other characters meet in a Hebrew language Ulpan where their personal stories meld with the complexities of Israeli reality. The immense effort of learning a new language is revealed through their encounter with a strange culture and an unfamiliar environment.
The Tale of Nicolai and the Law of Return
Aug 5 Sat 4 p.m. @Lichthaus Kino
Admission: 8 €/5 €
Reservations: post@lichthaus.de
Regie:David Ofek
Director: David Ofek
Running time: 54 min
Languages: Hebrew, Romanian
Subtitles: English
Production: Eden Productions (2008, IL)
With humor and irony, in a style reminiscent of a fairy tale, the film tells the story of a Romanian worker who realizes his Jewish roots can reverse his fortunes - after his Palestinian friends reveal to him the amazing advantages of having a Jewish grandmother.
With the support of the State Centre for political Education