In the last few years, there has been an intensified effort
by the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel to separate between men and women in
the public sphere. I would like to cite
a few examples -- teenage girls were covered up at the dance performance
marking the inauguration of the new bridge that looks like a harp at the
entrance to Jerusalem; women are now sitting at the back of the bus on bus
routes that service ultra-orthodox neighborhoods; orthodox male soldiers have
been boycotting army entertainment that includes women singing; and during
holiday seasons the crowded streets of Meah Shearim have been divided between
women's and men's sides of the streets.
These intensified efforts by the ultra-orthodox to degrade the position
of women and to challenge the status quo within Israeli society have gotten a
lot of press and have angered a lot of people, including me.
As if all of this is not enough, there is now another
phenomenon -- films made by and for women only! At first this really pissed me
off and I didn't want to see the films or go to the events -- one of which was
recently held at the Jerusalem Cinematheque.
But, in an effort to
understand better, I took a look at the documentary, The Dreamers (also called Celluloid Dreamers) by Efrat
Shalom Danon (58 minutes), which offers an in-depth look at the women behind
some of these films. I was surprised by
their dedication to the world of cinema.
Similar to women who enter the field of regular filmaking, these
ultra-orthodox female scriptwriters are interested in having their voices and
dreams portrayed on screen and the actresses love the adrenaline rush of
appearing before the camera. Sounds
familiar, doesn't it?
This film can open our eyes to the world of ultra-orthodox
women and how they are coping with their lives in a closed and patriarchal
society. The film is available from Go2Films.
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