The creation of Ephraim Kishon, winner of the Israel Prize, one of the greatest Israeli satirists and directors, is at the core of a new festival - the Israeli Comedy Festival named after Ephraim Kishon - which will open today and will be spread across seven locations throughout Jerusalem. The festival, initiated by the Incubator Theater and the Kishon family, will be dedicated to promoting A new creation and will celebrate the glorious heritage of Israeli comedy, humor and satire.
Before the festival we spoke with Kishon's children - Amir, Rafi and Renana - and heard from them how the festival was born and what they think their father would have said about what is happening here today.
"In the past there was a Kishon festival in Tel Aviv, there are always events in his memory. He was one of the greatest cultural creators in Israel," says Rafi, "he is the most widely used Hebrew author in the world. His book 'Family Book' is the most widely used in the world after the Bible.
There is always interest in his work, and we constantly try to cultivate it alongside Neta, the manager of the estate, who helps us."
According to Amir, "I look at the birth of the festival in a slightly more philosophical way. Father was very successful, and I remember that when I would come with him to the book festival in Frankfurt, he would always tell me that he was lucky, because there are so many people with talents similar to his who simply were not They are lucky, and it is engraved in my memory. I believe in this and think that the ideological basis of this festival is its spiritual will - to give an opportunity to talents in a festival of humor."
Ephraim Kishon, photo: Moshe Shay
"Although he was very successful in the world, it was very important for him to succeed in Israel as well, which was the most important place for him. He was certainly happy to know that there is a festival named after him in Jerusalem, the place that turned him from a helpless Holocaust refugee into what he was," says Rafi.
"In the long term, the goal is to also bring here humor from the world and turn it into an international event that will celebrate Jewish humor and give Jerusalem a different color. Father was once asked, 'Tell me, is there such a thing as Jewish humor?', he replied: 'I really don't know, but I Makes a lot of money from it."
"We want to mark a path for a new generation of satirists from all levels of humor and genres. We have been trying to establish this for years, and it finally succeeded. The goal is to produce something permanent that will give them a platform, and there is nothing more appropriate than the name of Kishon, whose legacy we We want to instill in the younger generation that his materials are still relevant," Renana shares.
What do you think he would have thought about the Hebrew work today?
"When they asked him why he stopped writing, he said 'because I've already written about everything'. So take this sentence and see how it fits today. That's what he used to say," Amir answers.
According to Rafi, "He has a story called 'Hava Narnana', a work that mocks the shallowness of the hymns of that time. Imagine what he would write about Muavet, Red Bull and all the texts of today. On the other hand, if he were alive today he would be fascinated by social networks , probably from Facebook and Twitter, because it was important to him to express ideas and opinions, but he hated writing humor, and if he knew that you could write a short tweet of five lines, and literally thousands would read it - I'm sure he would have been addicted and had hundreds of thousands of followers."
There are artists who receive praise and appreciation, and also festivals, only after their death. Your father earned it while he was still alive.
"Toward the end, he had a period of peace," says Renana, "his books were bestsellers, his plays were staged, he won the Israel Prize. In the end, he received the recognition he was waiting for, which he received earlier in Europe. There he was a star, and in Israel They didn't forgive him, they called him a downer. He was one of the pioneers who were also international artists and were successful here as well, and at the time they weren't forgiving of that. He suffered many years of insults from the critics as well, but in the end there was a positive tone, and I'm happy for him."
The festival will open today (Sunday) and continue until Saturday, during which six original productions by Israeli creators, stand-up shows, music shows, spoken word shows, lectures, comedy workshops for the whole family, film screenings and a variety of other events will be premiered.
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