HaKeves HaShisha Asar – The 16th Sheep

Last night was the opening event of the Docu-text Film Festival at the National Library in Jerusalem.  There were hundreds of people sitting outside in the library’s garden, under the heavens. It was beautiful. The opening film was the premiere screening of The Sixteenth Sheep: The Reunion, directed by Ran Tal, who is well-known for his documentary filmmaking, including Children of the Sun and The Museum.

The Sixteenth Sheep: The Reunion is a fantastic film, another film that I am proud to say was produced with assistance from the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund with which I am involved.  The film is about Israeli culture, nostalgia, and icons of great popular Israeli music. 

Back in the late 1970s, Yehonatan Geffen wrote a book which became the lyrics for a children’s song album and Yoni Rechter composed the music. The resulting album was called The Sixteenth Sheep (HaKeves HaShisha Asar) הכבש השישה עשר. Performing the music was Yoni Rechter, Gidi Gov, David Broza and Yehudit Ravitz, who were then young and up-and-coming Israeli musicians. The album became a landmark of Israeli culture and the songs became well-known children’s songs, often heard on the radio, sung by kids and their parents all over Israel in nursery school and kindergarten. 

The film follows the preparations for an historic reunion concert, almost 50 years later, which took place last year against the backdrop of the turbulent movement to bring home the hostages.  The viewer watches rehearsals, learns about the four major singers and their backgrounds, and is provided with in-depth interviews with the performers themselves and with many of their fans. 

Yoni Rechter, Yehudit Ravitz, Gidi Gov, and David Broza are each famous entertainers in their own right, and here in this wonderful reunion, they perform together, creating a stupendous event!  There is some talk about politics in the film, since they perform a well-known song written by Yehonatan Geffen and sung originally by David Broza, written during the period of the peace agreement with Egypt in 1977-79. The song is called Yehiyeh Tov – It will be good!  Hearing it in the film last night, performed during the hostage crisis last year, was particularly meaningful.

As part of the film, Yehudit Ravitz talks about the years that she didn’t perform because performing took up too much space in her life.  Gidi Gov talks about the good ole days back in the 60s and 70s when life in Israel was good and less complex.  And David Broza sings his classic song, We Came Here Under the Heavens, which the audience loved last night as we sat outside, in the beautiful garden of the National Library.

Last night’s audience sang along and was tremendously enthusiastic about the film, especially at the end, when Yehudit Ravitz and Yoni Rechter stood up in the audience to take a bow! 

Watch for the film on Israeli TV.  It will be broadcast both on HOT and on YES during September. The Sixteenth Sheep: The Reunion (documentary, 88 minutes) was produced by Dikla Barkai and Ran Tal. It can be obtained from Dikla Barkai, at dikla@abotbarkai.co.il at the production company, Abot Hameiri Barkai.