Hope-inspiring cinema
The Days of Ukrainian Culture were celebrated in Israel several months ago, for the first time since Ukraine and Israel established diplomatic relations. Judging by the press coverage and the number of people who attended concerts and other events of this celebration of Ukrainian culture, the event was a resounding success.
The Days of Israeli Culture took place in Ukraine on Sept. 8-12.The festivities are the brainchild of Lia Shemtov, member of the Israeli Knesset. She and Israeli Minister of Tourism Yitzhak Aharanovich represented the official Israeli delegation, along with emcee Aleksei Shtukin, singers Anna Reznikova, Igor Tabel, and Natalia Voronova, and many others whose names are well known to Ukrainian audiences. The pop group Golos moria (Voice of the Sea), fronted by Sarit Buchnik Tiki, performed in Ukraine for the first time.
The opening ceremony took place on Sept. 7 at the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music, and various concerts were held in Kyiv and other cities.
On the Israeli Embassy’s initiative, Kyiv’s oldest cinema, Zhovten, hosted the Israeli Film Festival on Sept. 9-12, which featured new Israeli films that are attracting international attention and winning first prizes at prestigious film festivals.
Below Ms. Zina Kalay-Kleitman, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Ukraine, shares her views on the eve of the Days of Israeli Culture in Ukraine.
Madam Ambassador, how effective are Days of Culture?
Ambassador: The Days of Culture are the calling card of a country, even if it is impossible to feature everyone we would like to, like the upcoming Days of Israeli Culture in Ukraine. There are objective reasons, but I am glad that the Israeli delegation will boast names that are well known to Ukrainian audiences, as well as filmmakers whose movies will be part of the screening program during the Days of Israeli Culture.
Your posting to Ukraine happily coincided with the opening of an art exhibit dedicated to Israel, and you instantly declared that you are interested in the cultural environment not only professionally but also personally. The Israeli film festival’s program was planned by the Israeli Embassy. Let’s talk about this. The Israeli filmmaking industry is relatively young and markedly cosmopolitan, judging by the filmmakers. The people who are working in this industry come from everywhere and represent various filmmaking schools and trends. How did Israeli cinematography begin and what are its national features?
Ambassador: To begin with, our country is young. The State of Israel was born in 1948 and its filmmaking business started in the early 1950s. We count our history by decades, and in terms of filmmaking every decade has been marked by important events. Cinematography in Israel began on a rather primitive basis — and this is germane to the launching of any business. Like any branch of art, it reflected the specifics of our daily life and our realities. Regrettably, the geopolitical location of our country means that we have been in a constant state of war throughout the decades of Israel’s existence. Our filmmakers could not help reflecting this. Beginning in the mid-1970s, our cinematography began gradually to fit into the world filmmaking process. Without a doubt, it was influenced by European cinematography. I think that the turn of the 2000s was marked by serious achievements won by Israeli filmmakers at the most prestigious international film festivals, and that this has placed our filmmaking industry on an equal footing with the rest of the world filmmaking community.
How does your filmmaking industry coexist with the state? How is your government involved in the industry and popularizing national productions?
Ambassador: Our government exerts a great degree of influence on the development of the national filmmaking process. This is not ideological dictatorship but material support. In the 1950s our parliament passed a bill entitled “On the Development of National Cinematography.”
You will agree that, given the staggering amount of problems that accompanied the complicated process of the evolution of the Israeli state, this law was proof that the government was interested in promoting the filmmaking industry. Later, a Cinematography Foundation was set up. Starting in the 1990s, it was fashionable to lash out at the foundation for its lack of effective financial support. The law changed the format of the foundation, which began to receive a lot of funds. The government also ordered commercial TV channels to deduct part of their revenues and remit them to the foundation, receiving in return the right to broadcast our films after their screening by the national network of movie theaters. Experts believe that this powerful financial injection had an important effect on the quality of filmmaking and made this industry what it is today, in high demand on the world market.
In order to generate bursts of filmmaking talent, movie stars, and productions that garner attention at film festivals there has to be a background, a current. What are the indices of the Israeli filmmaking industry? How many films do you make a year?
Ambassador: I don’t have the exact statistics, and I’m no an expert in this field, but I think a couple of dozen films a year would be more or less correct; the numbers are increasing every year. Indeed, we can already talk about an Israeli filmmaking industry, although there are productions that are ignored by film festivals and are not popular with our audiences. There are not many film studios in Israel but they are all working nonstop. They’re making motion pictures and TV productions. Sometimes they can even afford to shoot overseas. We have entered a period where we can make films with high international standards. Proof of the improving quality of our films and filmmakers’ financial capacities is that we can afford to sign contracts with foreign stars, including Hollywood names.
We also have a foundation to assist national cinematography in Ukraine, so it would be interesting to know the principles on which a given project is selected and receives support from your foundation.
Ambassador: Above all, we look for talented young filmmakers and their debuts, although well-known film directors continue to receive our support. In fact, the foundation isn’t the only source of financing for our filmmakers.
Many countries have cinemas that screen only national productions instead of blockbusters that predominate in most other movie theaters’ repertoires. Do you have such a practice in your country?
Ambassador: No, we don’t have any special movie theaters. Of course, there are many blockbusters, but I think that our filmmakers are following their own separate and interesting path, and their best productions are in high demand. Certain TV channels screen high-quality documentaries. Successful motion pictures are shown on television after their run in movie theaters. Our viewers enjoy them very much.
Does Israel have its own filmmaking school?
Ambassador: We have two big schools in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Their students are trained as film and theater actors, so they can work for drama companies and be cast in movies.
The films included in the program of the Israeli Film Festival differ in terms of genre and style, but even the most tragic productions portray a positive belief in man. Where does this attitude come from, considering the complicated and unhappy history of your country and people?
Ambassador: I believe that our life, with its daily realities of war, acts of terrorism, joys and sorrows, childbirths, weddings, and funerals, is very well portrayed by our filmmakers. There are no happy endings, but man cannot live without faith and hope.
