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Israeli Cinema Course ID ICINE-UT 0136 (Cinema Studies, Tisch)/DRLIT-UA 9524 (Dramatic Literature) Eytan Fox Instructor Details with Hannah Brown [email protected] [email protected] Hannah 02-570-2077; 054-438-5100 Eytan 052-822-2202 Class Details Fall Semester 2011 Wednesdays 17:15-20:15 Prerequisites No prerequisites Class Eytan Fox, one of Israel’s most acclaimed directors, will teach a course on the art of filmmaking. He Description will use his work to discuss the history and culture of Israel. For their final assignment, the students will write a proposal for a film based on their experiences in Tel Aviv. Putting Fox’s work in the context of Israeli cinema, Jerusalem Post film critic and novelist Hannah Brown will give a three-part survey of Israeli film history and will suggest a viewing list for students, as well as giving a brief introduction to critical theory and writing. Students will write a critical essay on a film they have seen in the course in which they will analyze the work and put it in the context of Israeli cinema. In addition, other established Israeli directors, including Ari Folman and Hagai Levy will guest lecture. Course To give students an understanding of and appreciation for the creative process of filmmaking, through Objectives an examination of the work of director Eytan Fox by the director himself, and to give a history of Israeli cinema in order to place his work in this context. Grading and 1. Midterm critical essay – 40% Assessment 2. Final film proposal – 60% Required Brown, Hannah. Israel’s Smash-Hit Decade, article, Jerusalem Post, December 31, 2009. Text(s) Brown, Hannah. The Ghost Landscape of Israeli Movies, article, The Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, Volume 4, Number 3, 365-369. Talmon, Miri and Padva, Gilad. Gotta Have an Effeminate Heart: The politics of effeminacy and sissyness in a nostalgic Israeli TV musical, article, Feminist Media Studies, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 2008, pp. 69-84. Supplemental Texts (not Gertz, Nurith. Gender and Space in the New Israeli Cinema. Article, Shofar: An Interdisciplinary required to Journal of Jewish Studies - Volume 22, Number 1, Fall 2003, pp. 110-116. purchase) Talmon, Miri and Peleg, Yaron (eds.). Israeli Cinema: Identities in Motion (pp. 313-325). Austin, TX: Page 1 of 5 Texas University Press. Comment [GL1]: These rubrics refer to BOOKS which are either required or recommended to be purchased and read by the students. Articles should appear as part of the weekly readings in the appropriate places. It is hard to overestimate the importance of the internet, or its contribution to the build up of I would refer them in the supplemental reading to the Internet contemporary knowledge of the world around us. Albeit it needs to be used wisely. This means that one books that we hold in our library: see list below Research must be selective and careful when relating to internet-based sources, identifying and distinguishing Guidelines opinions from facts, and journalism from academics. Most importantly, one should make clear reference to internet sources, allowing the reader the opportunity to consult these resources as and if required. Please also note that the ‘world-wide web’ – www – exists in many languages. Many sources about Israel in English, for instance, will be aimed at tourists or readers living primarily in English-speaking regions of the world. Sources might differ when reading them in other languages. Use the internet critically. Additional none Required Equipment Session 1 No work will be due for the first class Comment [GL2]: As I said, it’s not right to state this as students are required to either read or watch Eytan Fox will focus on understanding Israeli Cinema through an introduction to his films. He will open something towards their classes. Please remove these September 7 and highlight the relevant reading by placing them the course talking about his career and will instruct students on the filmmaking process. Referring to his first, as I did for session 4 below own work, he will teach them how to take an idea, write a synopsis or treatment, write a screenplay, obtain financing, and find and collaborate with a creative team. He will explain how to make a film that speaks a universal language but is also unique and has something new to say, based on his own directing experience. He will assign students to write a treatment for a film, inspired by the films they see here and their experiences in Tel Aviv that will be due for the 14th session. Assignment 1: During the first session, he will guide them in writing a brief assignment that they will begin in class and will hand in for the second session. This assignment will be about the experiences that led to their decision to study in Tel Aviv. (To be handed in Session 2) Comment [GL3]: This should be highlighted. They don’t necessarily read the text. Session 2 Students will hand in a short written assignment that they began during the previous session, which will serve as the basis for their final assignment. Comment [GL4]: Again, if there are additional September 11 assignments they should appear in the appropriate Eytan Fox will talk about autobiographical elements in his early work and will turn this subject into a section above and be graded and weighed into their final grade. You can’t surprise them with them. broader discussion of the conflict between the desires of the individual and the collective values of Israeli society, which tend to emphasize the responsibility for nation-building at the expense of the individual. He will discuss his American family and the values they taught him, as well as his immigration to Israel, and will show his highly acclaimed short film, “Time Off,” about how a gay Comment [GL5]: I would rather see the films that soldier deals with his sexual identity. are shown in each class separated and thus highlighted. Film: Time Off by Eytan Fox Session 3 Students will read Hannah Brown's article, The Ghost Landscape of Israeli Movies from The Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies. Comment [GL6]: Change as in session 4 September 14 Hannah Brown will give Part One of a three-part overview of Israeli film history. Clips of pre-1948 and early Israeli films will be shown. Students will be asked to read Hannah Brown’s article, “Israel’s Smash-Hit Decade,” before the class. The class will cover the period up to the late Seventies and will put developments in the movie industry in the context of Israeli history. Brown will assign a short, critical essay on an Israeli film of the students’ choice that will be due on the 7th course meeting and will Page 2 of 5 give guidelines on how to write it. Reading: Brown, Hannah. The Ghost Landscape of Israeli Movies, The Journal of Applied Session 4 Psychoanalytic Studies, Vol. 4, No. 3, 2002, pp. 365-369. September 21 Part Two of a three-part overview of Israeli film history, given by Hannah Brown. This class will cover the period from the late Seventies up until the year 2000. Clips will be shown of important movies from the period. She will also put Fox’s work in the context of developments during this era of Israeli Cinema. Session 5 No work will be due for this class, but students will be asked to attend a screening of Fox’s 1994 film, Comment [GL7]: This is work, so please change “The Song of the Siren.” this style/ October 5 This is how it should be: Required screening: Eytan Fox’s 1994 film, “The Song of the Siren.” Fox will talk about the pressures of being a filmmaker in a war zone, using his film, “The Song of the Siren,” as a basis for discussion. “The Song of the Siren,” is a comic drama about a young woman in Tel Aviv looking for love and working at an advertising agency. But it’s set during the First Gulf War in 1991, and she pursues her romantic adventures as SCUD missiles rain down on the city. Session 6 Reading: "Gotta Have an Effeminate Heart: The politics of effeminacy and sissyness Comment [GL8]: This is right, so you don’t need in a nostalgic Israeli TV musical," by Miri Talmon and Gilad Padva. it on page 1... October 9 Fox will show clips of his popular television series, “Florentine” (1997), a sophisticated and knowing soap opera about young people in the trendy South Tel Aviv neighbourhood, and “Gotta Have Heart,” a musical made for television. Fox will discuss what has at times seemed like a one-man mission to bring humor and music to the Israeli entertainment industry. “Florentine” was one of the very first Israeli television series to have an impact, and led the way for the development of a more sophisticated Israeli television industry. Session 7 Midterm assignment is due: The critical essay assigned by Hannah Brown will be turned in and students can make individual October 26 appointments to discuss it with her. Prior to the class, students will attend a screening of “Yossi & Jagger,” the 2002 movie by Fox, originally intended only for television viewers, which Hannah Brown called, “The best Israeli film in decades.” It marked a turning point in Fox’s career when it became an international success. It was groundbreaking and controversial, because it is a love story about two gay soldiers stationed in Lebanon. Ohad Knoller won the Best Actor Award at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival in New York for his performance as Yossi.