The Jerusalem International Women's Film Festival will screen films about women's lives in pre-state Palestine and the young Israeli state when its seventh edition opens October 12. The five-day program runs across the city, with the Jerusalem Cinematheque as its traditional hub.
Curators Lihi Sabag and Shira Meishar have put together feature films from Israel and abroad, documentaries, shorts, discussions, question-and-answer sessions, workshops, video therapy sessions and free events. Sabag said the program gives women's narratives and perspectives the same screen time as men's, even as fewer films are directed by women.
Women behind the camera
Competition for financial backing is fierce, Sabag said. She and Meishar compare films made for Israeli Film Day, which takes place about twice a year. “Out of 35 films, there are three or maybe four directed by women,” Sabag said. “I don't know if that is a matter of discrimination, but we want to say we have amazing female artists, and it is important to give them a stage.”
“Wild Things” opens the festival. It marks the first full-length film by Klil Kovesh, who has made short films over roughly the past decade. The film examines identity, relationships and social values. The program also pays tribute to actress, screenwriter, playwright, film director and social activist Hanna Azoulay Hasfari with a lifetime achievement award, and screens her works “Sh'Chur” and “Orange People.”
Among the other films, “La Maison des Femmes,” a French drama directed by Melisa Godet, follows a healthcare and support center for women facing abuse and violence by partners and rape. Tal Kushner's “Mikveh,” part of the Independent Shorts competition, looks at religious women's experiences involving intimacy, relationships, motherhood and hopes.
Women’s lives across history
American journalist-filmmaker Marisa Fox's documentary “My Underground Mother” traces the life of her late mother, Tamar. Fox meets Tamar's former friends and fellow inmates from a forced labor camp in Poland, then follows her life during the Holocaust, in pre-state Palestine and in the young Israeli state.
The 88-minute film combines animation, interviews and locations. It recounts trauma, resilience, pain and survival, and addresses all-female Nazi camps and the treatment of Holocaust survivors by the then-incipient country. “Humor is a balm for atrocity and for trauma,” Fox said. She also cited Mel Brooks's 1967 film “The Producers” as an example of humor illuminating injustice and trauma. Fox spent about 15 years making the documentary.
“Alice. Last Conversations” documents the life and work of German-born, British-bred Prof. Alice Shalvi, who made aliyah soon after the creation of the state. Shalvi worked as an educator and advocated feminism and women's education across religions and ethnicities. Filmmaker Nurit Jakobs Yinon's portrait focuses on the last year of Shalvi's life, when she reflected on her 96 years, including achievements and regrets. Jakobs Yinon will attend the screening.
A festival through difficult years
The festival's competitions include Independent Shorts, Student Films and Young Directors, a category for high school student filmmakers. Organizers also plan events at women's shelters, the Mazkeka, the Van Leer Institute and in haredi neighborhoods.
Sabag said the organizers have kept working through difficult years. “Roni [Mahadav-Levin], the CEO of the Cinematheque, told me he has never known such challenging years for a festival to navigate,” she said. Sabag and Meishar have spent seven years handling budgets and logistics.
Sabag also described the emotional impact of the October 7 attack, the subsequent hostage situation and violence in Gaza. “More and more things come out, each year on October 7. There is emotional baggage we carry with us. It's hard,” she said. The organizers have tried to include films that aren't overly challenging. “Our approach is that we need to present the public with more encouraging material. We have enough horrors around us in real life.”