This is the eighth year of the Docaviv Galilee Film Festival in Ma’alot-Tarshiha. The festival will run for five days (8 – 12 November) at various points throughout the town, including the Cultural Center, Eshkol HaPayis – the ORT Ma’alot School, the Apter Barrer Art Center gallery, and Tarshiha.
Docaviv Galilee has become an integral part of the Galilee’s cultural calendar. The festival presents the best Israeli and international documentary films, and raises the most pressing and relevant social and cultural themes for discussion. Throughout the festival, there will be a series of encounters between documentary filmmakers and the audience, which keeps growing every year.
Docaviv Galilee is just one part of the Docaviv NPO’s extensive activities. In addition to Docaviv Galilee, the NPO also organizes and hosts the Docaviv International Film Festival in Tel Aviv, Docaviv Negev in Yeruham, and additional documentary film screening programs throughout the year and across the country.
Docaviv Galilee is a Docaviv initiative, created in cooperation with the Municipality of Ma’alot-Tarshiha, the Ministry of Culture, and “Poalim BaKehila” (“Poalim in the Community”), a project of Bank HaPoalim.
Selected events at the festival include:
The opening ceremony and screening of Babylon Dreamers, winner of 2016 Docaviv Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo Award for Debut Film, followed by a special breakdance performance by the stars of the film, The Unstoppables.
Premiere screening of Jim: The James Foley Story, winner of the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award. The film tells the story of American journalist James Foley, who was executed by ISIS.
Premiere screening of the first episode of the new series The Documentarists, examining Israel from the perspective of documentary cinema, created by Arik Bernstein, Dan Geva, and Noit Geva.
The opening of In My Way, a group exhibition featuring five women artists from the Galilee, whose lives straddle two different worlds: tradition vs. progress and personal independence.
Gala premieres of films by locals from Ma’alot-Tarshiha and the surrounding area, graduates of the fifth “Wings” filmmaking workshop at the Apter Barrer Art Center Gallery, under the guidance of filmmakers Yael Kipper and Ronen Zaritzky.
A First look at works in progress. These will include Reborn (working title), a film by Shirly Berkovich, about parents who struggle to use their dead son’s semen to impregnate a surrogate mother, in order to become the child’s parents; and Song of Miriam, a film by Yisrael Winkler and Eldad Buganim, about the poet Miri Ben Simhon.
A free screening, under the star-lit Tarshiha skies, of the film The Music of Strangers: Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, followed by a performance by local musicians.
A day-long seminar for students of film and media, to include a workshop on how to work with materials from YouTube, led by Ayelet Albenda; a meeting with Tali Shemesh and Asaf Sudri, filmmakers of Death in Beersheba, winner of the Best Documentary award at the 2016 Docaviv festival; and a workshop with Tamar Kay, director of The Mute’s House, winner of the Student Film Competition at Docaviv. Film fans are more than welcome.
There will also be concerts by Ziv Yehezkel, Bint el Funk, the Alaev Family, the Keshet Choir, Yehuda Gilad, and Salam Darwish.
During the festival, there will be guided tours of special sites in the region, such as Tarshiha and Jat, in cooperation with Western Galilee Now.
Galia Bador, Festival Director: “Almost without realizing it, we are already about to begin our eighth festival in the Galilee. We can certainly say that the vision of Docaviv is being fulfilled year after year, by bringing the message of documentary film to Israel’s periphery. We’ve seen a noticeable rise in the number of visitors who come from across the country to enjoy the festival and take in the Galilee’s stunning landscapes and fresh air. This year too, we are expecting an increase in attendance.”
Shlomo Buhbut, Mayor of Ma’alot-Tarshiha: “I am proud and delighted that the city of Ma’alot-Tarshiha is hosting the Docaviv Galilee festival for the eighth year running. This year, more than ever, Docaviv Galilee is devoting its rich artistic program to putting the periphery front and center. The new voices rising from the periphery have proven themselves worthy, because of their high-quality, creative artistic output. This festival brings those voices to center stage in the public discourse, and establishes their place on the agenda. The Docaviv Galilee festival, as well as other cultural events in the city, have established Ma’alot-Tarshiha’s reputation and turned it into a magnet for cultural aficionados no matter where they are. The city is fulfilling its vision of being a platform and creative venue for artists and the arts in the Galilee, while at the same, using the arts to empower all people, no matter who they are.”
Ticket Prices:
Per film / workshop: NIS 20.
Subscribers to the Cultural Center and residents of Eshkol Western Galilee: 1 + 1 (for the same film).
Students and soldiers: Free.
For the full program [Hebrew]
For more information, call 04-9573050.
