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Undressing Israel

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Undressing Israel UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND General details: Genre: Documentary Release Year: 2012 Production Countries: Israel Production Companies: Michael Lucas (United States), Mozer Films Ltd. (Israel) Niches: Israel, Gay/Lesbian, The fight against homophobia, Human and civil rights, Social Issue. Technical details Length: 46 Min Shooting Format (original film gauge): HD Screening Format: DCP, HDCAM, Digibeta, Beta Analog Spoken Language: English and Hebrew Narration: English Subtitles: English Sound: Stereo / Color Aspect Ratio: 16:9 UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND Synopsis: When many people think of Israel, it is often in terms of modern war or ancient religion. But there is much more to the Jewish state than missiles and prayers. In his debut as a documentary filmmaker, adult-film entrepreneur and political columnist Michael Lucas examines a side of Israel that is too often overlooked: its thriving gay community. Undressing Israel features interviews with a diverse range of local men, including a gay member of Israel’s parliament, a trainer who served openly in the army, a young Arab-Israeli journalist, and a pair of dads raising their kids. Lucas also visits Tel Aviv’s vibrant nightlife scene—and even attends a same-sex wedding—in this guided tour of a country that has emerged as a pioneer for gay integration and equality. Hosted By: Michael Lucas Mickey Gitzin Alon Levi Parliament Member Nitzan Horowitz Amit Lev Ivri Lider Dror Pinto Eliad Cohen Dvir Bor Eytan Fox Eyal Givli Yossi Berg Giyora Yahalom Itai Pinkas Idan Sagaiv Richter Yoav Arad Jason Danino Holt Yehonathan Gatro Oren Magen Hader Rayan Abu-Seif Saar Pelles Rafi Vazana Shay Rokach Andrey Nozdrin Talula Bonet Yiftach Mizrahi Yonaton Vanunu UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND Credits: Directed by: Michael Lucas and Yariv Mozer Produced by: Michael Lucas Consulting Producer: Scott Stern Script By: Michael Lucas, Yariv Mozer Editor: Amit Ginton Director of Photography: Ziv Berkovich Additional Photography: Shahar Reznik Stills Photography: Yishai Llan Animation Design: Studio Praktik, Sagi Stern, Noam Amir Sound Recordist: Yishai Llan Sound Design: Shahaf Wagshall UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND Festival Screenings: January 13, 2013 Los Angeles, CA The Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood January 25, 2013 Tucson, AZ The 2013 Out In The Desert Film Festival February 8, 2013 Atlanta, GA The 2013 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival March 12, 2013 Konstanz, Germany The 26th Annual Queergestreift Film Festival April 20, 2013 Warsaw, Poland The 2013 Polish LGBT Film Festival June 9, 2013 Tel Aviv, Israel The 2013 Tel Aviv LGBT Film Festival June 19, 2013 Brooklyn, NY The Union Temple of Brooklyn June 26, 2013 Holon, Israel The Holon Cinematheque July 14, 2013 Philadelphia, PA The 2013 Philadelphia QFest October 2013 Bergan, Norway The Bergan International Film Festival UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND Michael Lucas Writer, Director, Actor and Producer Michael Lucas was born in Moscow, Russia, where he earned a law degree from the Moscow Law University. In 1997 he moved to New York; a year later he founded Lucas Entertainment, which he has built into one of the world’s most prominent gay adult-film studios. His movies, which include “Michael Lucas’ La Dolce Vita” and “Men of Israel” (the first adult film shot in Israel), have won multiple awards and have been lauded for their achievements in cinematography, style and production quality. In addition to directing, producing and starring in Lucas Entertainment productions, Michael is also a regular op-ed contributor to such publications as The Advocate, The Huffington Post and Pink News, where his passionate activism and uncompromising convictions have made him a controversial figure in the gay media world. “Michael Lucas has used the stardom porn gave him as a platform to speak out against drugs, unsafe sex, child exploitation, anti-Semitism, religious oppression of gays, and host of other social problems.” – The Advocate Official website: www.michaellucas.com UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND Yariv Mozer Writer, Director and Producer Yariv Mozer had graduated with distinction from Tel-Aviv University’s Film and Television Department. He is currently completing his first feature film "Snails in the rain", supported by The Rabinovich film fund. Previously he directed the documentaries, "The Invisible Men" (Israel-The Netherlands 2012), Winner of The 2012 Doc Aviv Special Jury Award and "My First War" (Israel 2008), a co-production with Zdf-Arte, Winner of The Doc Aviv Special Jury Award, IDFA First Appearance Nominee and Best Film Winner of The Toronto Jewish Film Festival. Mozer had also produced more than 15 documentary films, among them are "The Heart of Jenin" (Germany 2008), Israeli Academy Award Nominee "The House on Tabenkin st." (Israel 2008) and more; Mozer is a member of the European FilM AcadeMy and the first Israeli producer to participate in EAVE (European Audio Visual Entrepreneurs). In addition, Mozer is a member of the Israel Academy of Motion Pictures and the Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum. Mozer, former head of Entrepreneur Production Studies at the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, former Supervising Producer of Israeli production company "Alma Films" and has also served as director of the 10th Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival (2004) which hosted in Tel Aviv: Mr. Richard Gere (USA), Mr. Patrice Leconte (France), Ms. Catherine Breillat (France), Mr. Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark) and Mr. Nabil Ayouch (Morocco). Official website: www.mozer-films.com UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND Online Media And Updates: http://www.facebook.com/undressingisrael Official Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixRnQVvsTYs Photo Album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/88885166@N05/ Michael Lucas at The 2013 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S94sHkYIRLE Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RITjOZm8BY Michael Lucas at the 8th Annual Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pCMT7J1tYE Michael Lucas at the Union Temple of Brooklyn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH9SAviu-ko UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND Press: The Jerusalem Post http://www.jpost.com/Metro/LifeStyle/The-naked-truth-307962 The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-pro-israel-porn-star-defending-israel-in-film/ Shalom Life http://us.shalomlife.com/news/19583/michael-lucas-an-advocate-of-israel-zionismand-gay- porn/ The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-alexander-hess/michael-lucas-undressing- israel_b_2599206.html Out Magazine http://www.out.com/entertainment/movies/2013/04/03/michael-lucas-gay-men- undressing-israel Logo’s NewNowNext Blog http://www.newnownext.com/michael-lucas-explores-gay-culture-in-israel-with-new- documentary-watch/06/2013/ Instinct Magazine http://instinctmagazine.com/post/undressing-michael-lucas UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND A Wider Bridge http://awiderbridge.org/michael-lucas-undresses-israel/ David Atlanta Magazine http://davidatlanta.com/2013/01/michael-lucas-undresses-israel/ Project Q Atlanta http://www.projectqatlanta.com/news_articles/view/michael_lucas_from_gay_porn_to_jewis h_film_fest?gid=12884 Out Smart Magazine http://outsmartmagazine.com/2013/02/undressing-israel/ Edge New York http://www.edgenewyork.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=movies&sc2=news&sc3=&i d=141231 Gay Calgary http://www.gaycalgary.com/Magazine.aspx?id=112&article=3337 This Week In Texas Magazine http://twitmagazine.com/index.php/component/content/article/38-rokstories/490- michael-lucas-spotlight Gay.Net http://www.gay.net/movies/2013/02/25/qa-quickie-michael-lucas-going-deep-inside-gay- israel UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND South Florida Gay News http://southfloridagaynews.com/articles/gay-porn-king-michael-lucas-love-affair-with- israel/110495 DNA Magazine http://www.dnamagazine.com.au/articles/news.asp?news_id=18583 The Fight Magazine http://issuu.com/lgbtfight/docs/thefight_0413 Guy Magazine http://www.guymag.net/articles/entertainment/interviews/porn-star-michael-lucas- undresses-israel/ Philadelphia Gay News http://issuu.com/philagaynews/docs/pgn070513#download Philadelphia Magazine: GPhilly http://blogs.phillymag.com/gphilly/2013/07/10/girl-talk-not-too-porny-interview-porn- king-michael-lucas/ UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND The naked truth? 03/28/2013 12:50 By YONI COHEN Despite the film’s racy title and director Michael Lucas’s ‘adult’ film background, ‘Undressing Israel’ is a strictly clothes-on affair background, Michael Lucas may not fit the bill of a traditional Israel advocate, but he insists that he is more than qualified for the job. The gay adult film entrepreneur is a staunch supporter of the Jewish state and hopes that his new documentary will showcase Israel as a beacon of liberalism and modernity in the Middle East. Lucas’s documentary, however, is not a stale examination of the diversity of Israel’s population or an assessment of how fairly the IDF conducts itself during conflicts. Instead, the Jewish filmmaker looks at an issue that has only recently begun to garner global interest – Israel’s gay community. The Moscow-born director’s debut documentary Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promised Land features interviews with a diverse range of gay men, such as MK Nitzan Horowitz UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND (Meretz); a young Arab-Israeli journalist; a trainer who served in the IDF; and a pair of dads raising their children. Despite the film’s racy title and the director’s “adult” film background, the documentary is a strictly clothes-on affair. While the gay community in Israel, and Tel Aviv in particular, has recently attracted the attention of some of the world’s media, Lucas insists that most people do not know that Israel is gayfriendly.
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