The Israeli Film Festival of College Hill kicked off its third year Thursday with a screening of "Precious Life" at the Avon Cinema. The festival, free and open to the campus and community, will end Feb. 17.
A committee of six Brown and Rhode Island School of Design students have dedicated months to organizing the festival. Sarah Levy '12, co-director, said the committee wanted to "highlight Israel as a hub of art" by choosing the best Israeli films possible. Films such as "Sweet Mud," which won Best Picture at Ophir Awards, Israel's Academy Awards, highlight "Israel's new and growing film industry," Levy said.
Films cover a broad spectrum of ideas and themes, such as architecture, war, orthodox religion and sexuality. They "raise a lot of questions without giving a lot of answers," Levy said.
"Precious Life" revolves around efforts to save the life of a Palestinian baby brought to a hospital in Israel. The committee liked its accessibility and message of peace, Levy said. Nava Winkler '13, who served two years in the Israeli army, said she liked the film's focus on the individuals' humanity without polarizing Israel and Palestine.
But, Levy said, "Israel has a lot to offer outside the context of politics." Filmmakers tell stories about their societies and shed light on certain themes and cultural aspects of Israel, she said. For example, "Tel Aviv-Jaffa," which will be screened Feb. 15, discusses the architecture of the city. Dietrich Neumann, professor of history of art and architecture, will speak after the screening.
The stop-motion animated film "$9.99" was screened Saturday night to a full audience of community members and students. RISD Professor Amy Kravitz discussed the film with Director Tatia Rosenthal, followed by questions from the audience.
Rosenthal, who left medical school to pursue animation, said she was always conflicted between science and art. A motif in the movie is, "Think first because life doesn't give you a second chance," but she said she believes "$9.99" shows the opposite.
The film, which is composed of multiple stories woven together, opens with a riveting exchange between two men, "a life and death ... intensely Jewish" moment, as Kravitz called it.
Diane Newman, who lives in Providence, wondered why the film was being shown at an Israeli film festival, apart from Rosenthal being Israeli and the setting's architectural similarities to Tel-Aviv. Rosenthal said that "$9.99" was never meant to be an Israeli film, and that it is an international, every-city story.
One of the storylines revolves around a young man searching for the meaning of life. A $9.99 book will apparently give him the answer — or six. College Hill resident Jolie Shushansky commented on the dialogue and the film's use of humor to convey serious messages. She also expressed pleasure at the way the film festival brought together members of the community and students.
Hillel, one of 10 co-sponsors of the festival, assisted with logistics and finances, said Marshall Einhorn, executive director of the organization. The festival costs over $10,000, which includes movie rights, bringing directors such as Rosenthal to speak, renting Avon Cinema and printing costs, he estimated.
The festival is "an idea that the students have been driving for the last few years," Einhorn said. The strong student group behind it "should make it a staple of the calendar for years to come," he added.
The festival is only the culmination of the committee's yearlong work recruiting students in September, holding weekly meetings, doing research, writing requests for grants and contacting distributors. Levy's experiences in mentoring first-year students and learning about student organizing have been "incredibly rewarding," she said.
Gili Kliger '12, the other co-director and a Herald design editor, also expressed excitement. She and Levy could not stop smiling as they explained that they had been talking about their hopes for the festival for such a long time, it was difficult to adequately convey them. They are incredibly excited to share their passion with the community, Levy said.
