In 2007, Carole Zabar, an active supporter for Israeli cultural, social and political causes and a board member of The JCC (Jewish Community Center) in Manhattan, New Israel Fund, and the American Friends of Meretz, founded The Other Israel Film Festival, an annual event taking place at The Israel Film Center at the JCC in Manhattan, New York.
Reasons for Founding the Annual Festival
Ms Zabar decided to use film in order to present and promote awareness of the different layers and dimensions of Israel’s multicultural society that exist beyond the media. The festival’s purpose is to widen the perspective of Israel’s society through exploration of the deeper meaning of everyday living in Israel. “It is not about the conflict - it is not about taking sides - this festival is about people”, says Mrs. Zabar.
Annual Festival Focusing on Israel's Minorities
Through its film screenings, involving joint projects with Jewish film makers, directors, screenwriters, actors and production teams, the annual festival aims to show the lives, dreams and strengths of Israel’s largest minority, the 1.7 million Arabs (Christian, Muslim, Bedouin and Druze) and also those of the 300,000 foreign workers. Living in a democratic Jewish State, these minority groups contribute in diverse ways that are often overlooked by mainstream Israeli society.
The People Behind The Other Israel Film Festival
- Carole Zabar, the founder has been an active supporter of Israeli documentary filmmaking over the last decade and active in Israeli cultural, social and political causes.
- Isaac Zablocki, the Executive Director grew up in Israel and served in the IDF as an educational filmmaker.
- Ravit Turjeman, the Festival Director and Founder and Managing Director of Dragoman Films, a distribution company based in New York City, specialising in marketing of Israeli Cinema in North America.
- Ariana Cohen-Halberstam, the Festival Coordinator and Film Program Associate at the Israel Film Center at The JCC in Manhattan.
Other Israel Funding and Grants
Commencing with a gift from Carole Zabar, The Other Israel Film Festival also established a film funding program in 2009. The Other Israel funding program considers projects on an ongoing basis in four categories:
- Development
- Production
- Completion
- Distribution
Development grants also provide seed funds to filmmakers whose projects are in the early research, screenplay writing, or pre-production stage.
In Essence - The Other Israel Film Festival
The Other Israel Film Festival takes place annually in New York in early November and usually draws an audience of close to 5,000 film lovers of all faiths and backgrounds.
The festival’s program reflects its mission, to showcase quality films that convey real human messages in order to cultivate a wider understanding of the often unheard minority communities living in The Democratic Jewish State of Israel.
Click here to read about the 2011, 5th The Other Israel Film Festival.
Sources:
Lesley Lanir - Freelance writer, lecturer and teacher trainer Lesley Lanir, writes on foreign language learning disorders, linguistics, and literature.
