Israeli film & filmmakers - updates and analysis: Valley of Fortitude (Gei Oni) is Picking Up Awards

Friday, December 9, 2011

Valley of Fortitude (Gei Oni) is Picking Up Awards

Dan Wolman's film, Valley of Fortitude (Gei Oni), based on the novel by Shulamit Lapid, has picked up 5 awards during the past year. The most recent was received at the Golden Rooster, One Hundred Flower Film Festival in Hefei, China, which took place in October. I am told that 40,000 people attended the opening event in a huge stadium!

Not surprising, the film won the audience award – perhaps due to its humanity, its sensitivity, and its special attention to how human beings learn to adapt to their surroundings and their relationship to nature. It is wonderful to think of far-off Chinese festival goers choosing an Israeli film that really speaks to them!

Check out more on this film, which has previously been reviewed on this blog.

Valley of Fortitude is currently playing in a TV adaptation as a 6-part series on Israeli TV Channel One, on Tuesday evenings. Don't miss it!

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Check out the letters of appreciation that I have received from my speaking tours!

From Rabbi Martin Weiner, Sherith Israel Congregation, San Francisco
November 19, 2010

On behalf of our Sherith Israel Congregation I would express my sincere thanks for the superb program on Israeli film that you presented last Saturday evening. Your passionate love for film and, of course, for Israel came through in the dramatic clips that you showed and in the very lively discussion that you inspired. You have a very special gift for bringing your listeners into the challenging questions and themes raised by the films. Truly, your program was incredibly well-received. I would not hesitate to recommend you to synagogues, schools, and Jewish Centers throughout the country.

From Cantor Eric Schulmiller
The Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore
Plandome, NY

In reference to Amy's availability as a master teacher of Israeli cinema, I wanted to share my personal testimony. Our congregation brought Amy in to lead two separate programs on a wonderful shabbat this past winter.

First, she conducted an amazing session with our teen group - presenting film clips and facilitating discussions that were
challenging, engaging, and never patronizing to our group of kids. She spoke to them like the sophisticated consumers of media that they are, and they came away very satisfied and enlightened from the experience.

That same evening, Amy led a program and discussion for the adults in our congregation, and the feedback I received was equally positive. We all found Amy to be extremely knowledgeable, organized, and (too rare among presenters
these days) very easy to work with! I highly recommend her services to any congregation that is looking for a way to enrich their community's relationship with Israel through an exploration of a wide variety of issues brought forth by a sensitive, careful examination of its cinematic tradition.

From Joan Friedman
Assistant Professor of History and Religious Studies
College of Wooster, Ohio

We were fortunate to have Amy Kronish speak on campus two years ago about Israeli film; the students really enjoyed the evening. Don't pass up this opportunity!