Two Films about the Bedouin of the Northern Negev Premiere at the Jerusalem Film Festival

 I had the opportunity to see two extraordinary films about the Bedouin community of the northern Negev.  Eid by Yousef Abo Madegem, is a full-length feature film. Desert Laws, by Ilan Moskovitch and Dan Bronfeld, is a documentary.  I am proud to say that both films were funded (in part) by the Gesher Film Fund (of which I am a member and sit on the funding committee).

Eid, which is a debut feature film (90 minutes) by Yousef Abo Madegem, is the first Bedouin-made feature film in Israel.  The filmmaker studied film at Sapir College in Sderot and is a graduate of the Mandel leadership program.  In addition, I have a personal connection to him -- he is a graduate of a program that I initiated in 2008 that brought together Jewish and Arab young filmmakers, to participate in a two-part seminar: a coexistence seminar abroad (hosted by the International YMCA of Jerusalem and the YMCA of the USA) and a film seminar in Jerusalem (run by Gesher). The idea was to make connections across the divide within your own profession. I remember at that time that Abo Madegem made a big impression on me, talking about his growing up in the Bedouin community of Rahat and his experiences as a child in a family with two wives.  

After the world premiere screening at the Jerusalem Film Festival, Abo Madegem told the enthusiastic audience that he has 10 children and this film is his 11^th! He also explained that the story of the film is based on a true story that happened to his friend when he was young.  It is also interesting to note that the film stars Palestinian actors from the north of Israel who had to learn the special dialect and accent of the Bedouin.

The title of the film refers to the name of the main character of the film.  Eid is a young man who has experienced trauma in his life.  He was sexually assaulted when he was a child by someone close to the family, and no one has provided him with any sense of consolation, closure or even minimal understanding.  In addition, his father, who came from Gaza and is not a native-born Bedouin, sold land to the Jews, and therefore is considered a traitor in the community.  As a result, Eid is bullied by those around him.  Eid is educated and wants his wife to be educated also.  He writes lines for a play that he is dreaming of staging.  It is a play that would help him come to grips with his experiences.  When his parents announce that they have arranged a marriage agreement for him and his sister, he must figure out how to realize his dreams.

Eid, the film, is superb – it is lyrical in many ways, the acting is compelling and effective, the sets are minimalistic but the script holds the viewer and the film unfolds like a thriller. Available from Go2Films.

-----

Desert Laws, directed by Ilan Moskovitch and Dan Bronfeld, is an anthropological portrait of a Bedouin elder, living in an unrecognized village at Tel Arad.  Farhan lives with his two wives and 13 of his children.  There are 300,000 Bedouin living in the Negev and one third of them live in villages which are not officially recognized by the State of Israel, which means that they are not hooked up to basic infrastructure, such as water and electricity.

Farhan is a respected elder of the Al-Nabari tribe, a mediator between the different factions of the tribe, and between tribes.  What he says goes.  This is the justice system of the traditional Bedouin. Today, there is terrible crime – armed robbery and an ongoing cycle of revenge murders – within the Bedouin society.  These are the types of crimes that he is dealing with in his verdicts and he takes his role and his responsibility very seriously.

We watch as Farhan, aided by his sons who span a wide range of ages, cares for his camels, slaughters sheep for the eid (the holiday at the end of Ramadan), and during Ramadan, we see them laying out a feast for the iftar dinner.  But most importantly, we are witness to how he deals with the clansmen and their contradictory claims and grievances.

The title of the film, refers to two sets of laws, not just the Bedouin law, but also the laws of the State of Israel.  Farhan lives in a reality in which the government can confiscate their land and evict them from their homes. Although his family has been living in Tel Arad since 1952 when the military governor moved them to this site, now, the Israel Lands Authority has decided to evict them.  Farhan decides to fight this unfair and ironic decision of the government.

Desert Laws is a hard-hitting portrait (documentary, 80 minutes) of one man, his leadership in his community, his work with his sons on his land, his work as an arbitrator within the community, and his terrible plight vis-à-vis the Israeli government.

A New Israeli Film about Sexual Abuse

All I Can Do, directed by Shiri Nevo Fridental, is a new feature film which was screened this past week at the Jerusalem Film Festival.  It is about sisterhood, about the #MeToo movement, about women’s stories of sexual abuse, and about one woman working to try to make a difference.

The story is about a man accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl, who was babysitting for his children.  Re’ut is a prosecutor in the Israeli justice system, who gets handed the new case. Now, more than 10 years after the events, the plaintiff, Efrat, has decided to come forward.  She is not your most normative young woman – sporting tatooes, spouting some foul language, and obviously emotionally damaged by the abuse that she experienced as an adolescent.  Despite her hardened exterior, she is quite fragile -- suicidal, vulnerable, and needy.  It’s hard to prosecute a case with no evidence, and only one plaintiff. But Re’ut is committed to getting justice for Efrat, no matter what it costs her professionally and emotionally.  

It turns out that Re'ut also has a story of abuse in her family.  She comes from a family of Russian immigrant women.  She was brought to Israel at the age of 7 by her mother and her grandmother and she has a special relationship with her grandmother.  But her mother, who herself suffered abuse from the hands of her husband back in Russia, is somewhat temperamental and they don’t have the best relationship. 

These are women’s stories.

 

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Working Woman by veteran filmmaker, Michal Aviad, is a strong statement about sexual harassment in the workplace. 

Orna is married to Ofer -- they have a wonderful relationship and share in taking care of their three children.  Recently they opened a restaurant and are financially stressed, so Orna finds a job working for Benny, a builder putting up an up-scale apartment tower in Rishon LeTzion with attractive views of the sea.  She starts out as his personal assistant and eventually moves up to director of sales.  But something is wrong in their relationship and the sexual tension is thick and unmistakable. Benny starts out by making comments about her hair and suggestions about how she dresses – and things move on from there.

At a time when #MeToo has become so relevant in every woman’s life, along comes a film about sexual harassment in the workplace, making it extremely up-to-date and relevant.  What woman has not experienced some harassment in her professional life?  Why can’t we be looked upon as professional women instead of sexual objects?  Why have we been afraid to speak out at times of harassment?  Why are we so often blamed for what is obviously terribly inappropriate behavior on the part of the boss?

 

Working Woman is an extremely effective film, portraying compelling and complex characters, with superb cinematography – all leading the viewer to become an unwitting witness in a realistic and hard-hitting narrative.

During the film, I asked myself why didn’t Orna tell her husband about the increasing harassment at work?  Was she worried about how he would react?  Was she afraid of losing her job?  Or was she unsure of her own role in what was taking place? Why doesn’t she take revenge?  As things become more and more unbearable, Orna realizes that she must take steps to preserve her own self-image and dignity.

The film was produced by Lama Productions and United King Films.

Films About the World of Ultra-Orthdodox Judaism

I have written about a number of films dealing with the haredi (ultra-orthodox) world .  Just recently, I wrote about Fill the Void (Rama Burshtein) and God's Neighbors (Meni Yaesh).  Older dramatic films include: Kadosh (Amos Gitai), Ushpizin (Gidi Dar),  Secrets (Avi Nesher), Eyes Wide Open (Haim Tabakman).  A landmark documentary series is  Haredim: The Ultra-Orthodox Community in Israel, a trilogy by Ron Ofer and Yochai Hakak, which includes Religion.com and Haredot: The Rabbi's Daughter and the Midwife. 

Some of the dramatic films look at the haredi community critically, some poking fun, and only Fill the Void looks at the community in a loving and positive light.  The documentary trilogy is more objective in its portrayal, offering an inside glimpse at real people and real dilemmas.  From Ron Ofer, the filmmaker of the documentary trilogy, comes another documentary -- a very personal and very hard-hitting film about  life in the haredi community -- from a totally different perspective and on a totally surprising subject.  

Pursued (Menachem Roth and Ron Ofer, documentary, 2012) offers a compelling story of a man's coming to terms as an adult with the sexual abuse that he experienced as a student in a haredi yeshiva. 

Menachem Roth grew up within the haredi  community, studying in a yeshiva, until he decided to turn his back on it, cut his payes and travel abroad.  Now, 35 years-old, he is obsessed with his past and he returns to Israel from Germany where he had been living, in order to confront the demons of his previous  life as a yeshiva bocher  in the haredi community.  

First stop back in Israel, he visits his loving and charming Bubby. Then he sets out to create a confrontation with the young man who, according to Roth, "ruined his life."  Roth was abused sexually when he was 14 years-old, living in a yeshiva boarding school.  Today, more than 20 years later, the man who abused him  is a respected rabbi, married, father of 15.  This is a film which documents their confrontation.

Pursued is available from Ruth Diskin Films

Doma

Yesterday at the DOCAVIV film festival, which is held annually at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, I saw an extraordinarily moving and beautiful film about sexual abuse in the Arab community – Doma, directed by Abeer Zeibak Haddad (documentary, 51 minutes).

The title of the film, Doma, means dolls in Arabic and the film opens with a scene from a puppet show called Chocolate that the filmmaker created -- we watch as a strange man approaches a little girl in the park and spins her on the carousel, faster and faster. We don't see what happens after but the pace quickens and we feel actual fear.

The film is about four women who were abused as girls and today they decide to speak up and break the silence dealing with this subject that is so prevalent in the Arab community. This is the story of women who were afraid to speak out as little girls, afraid to shout out, afraid to confront their attackers. A black Bedouin woman, photographed from behind in a moving car, explains, "In our society they always blame the victimized girl."

Only one woman, a sculptor named Manal, speaks directly to the camera about what happened to her. She is creating a sculpture installation incorporating sexual organs and using Christian symbolism. She says, "Women do not own their own bodies." In another scene, she talks about how she didn't want anyone to touch her breast, and as a result was not physically or emotionally able to nurse her twins when they were babies.

Another woman tells that she was repeatedly raped since she was 5-years old by her uncle, her mother's brother. Her grandmother knew, but kept silent. And yet another woman talks about the pain of having been abused by her own father and how she tried to resist it.

Each woman reacts differently. One woman decides that she must confront her rapist and another wants to file a complaint with the police.

This is a film about very brave women who are speaking out about a terrible tragedy in their lives, about a subject that is still difficult for them to confront. For years, they were afraid of speaking out because they could be murdered by their male relatives for bringing disgrace to their families. In fact, similar stories of family honor have brought death to many women. We watch as a Druze father, still in mourning for his daughter, is addressing a crowd at a demonstration and talking about so many girls who have been murdered.

The film is beautifully shot – the women are shot from the back, looking out a window, one is looking out at the sea, or slightly distorted in a window or mirror, or shot from behind in a moving car. One is also shot surrounded by a field of Sabras, a plant that symbolizes the deep contradiction between aggression and nature. This element of anonymity in the film makes it so authentic and emphasizes the fact that these four women are a voice for all those who have suffered similar experiences in their youth.

The film is available from the producer: Suheil Haddad (husband of the director)

suheilh@zahav.net.il

or from Go2 Films