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Tactical docu-movies are not superficial? "Upside down, the networks want to put depth." A chance for an Oscar? "Maybe one day" | Israel today

2022-05-27T18:24:50.745Z


Galia Bedor, CEO of the Dokaviv Festival, which opens this week for the 24th time, believes that the gap with reality shows encourages documentary cinema • Calls for more budgets to be transferred to culture •


Galia Bedor,


CEO


of Dokaviv, CEO of the Documentary Creators Forum in Israel, producer of documentaries and founder of the Dokaviv Galil and Dokaviv Negev festivals.

Personal trainer in her training

***

Galia Bedor, the 24th Dokaviv Festival opens this week, which will also be your last in the role of the festival's CEO, after about 14 years. 150 films a year, what in the socio-national fabric of Israel makes us attracted to documentary work?

"I can personally say that a documentary work is in my eyes the most significant art there is - personal, social, realistic, unfiltered stories. The combination of the big screen with reality, along with a great interest in people, meets Israelis at a very precise point. See the Israeli reality - people, gender, sectors and conflicts. "

What issues are being addressed to Israelis?

"In our country, everything is burning and significant, and much is often attributed to political films, for example on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Politics will always be present, but it is of course only part of the picture, along with many other diverse issues. 70 percent of the films are international, 30 percent are Israeli. "Everyone can find a topic that interests them. I think in the end, when a person enters a movie and watches an unusual movie, he comes out differently from the way he enters."

Part of the success of the genre is associated with reality shows?

They have made us consumers of more personal and authentic content.

"There are two possible directions here. Reality shows represent authentic elements of people's lives, and audiences connect to it. But alongside the launch point, the gap in genres is very large. Docu films are cinema, art, unlike reality shows which are an entertainment genre. "Between them strengthens the longing for quality docu, and I see it in a growing audience. It has not been a niche for a long time."

The docu has become bon ton, and perhaps as a result - attracts more fire.

I guess you feel it in the management of the festival whose centrality is growing.

"I am in favor of drama because life is dramatic. There are conflicts, interest and diversity in them - and there is no reason why documentary cinema did not represent that."

Streaming or cinema?

You represent at least one other key element that has taken the forefront of our lives - social media, and you have decided to collaborate with Tiktok for docu-movies.

This may overshadow the depth of the documentary genre format.

A film lasting between 30 seconds and three minutes cannot be compared to a traditional traditional documentary.

"True, and therefore not comparable. There are 120 feature films for the most part alongside a new, refreshing competition that opens up the documentary world to a younger and different audience as well, and creates a new language. The Cannes Film Festival was the first to do such a feature film competition, and Dokaviv is the first in the world to do it with Documentaries. "

Did you receive any complaints on the subject?

Are there people who find it cold in their eyes?

"First, I am in favor of a lively and meaningful dialogue. If there are any complaints? There are, but not too many. In the end, this is a strong and large social network, and there is an attempt to test the interfaces to this network. I am in favor of innovations. The sea in the public sphere, in the field of culture, needs to create shifts and changes. "

In the past you said that cinema was not meant to entertain.

The use of tiktok is purely entertainment.

"It depends on what they submit. The idea was to take the professional, artistic and meaningful documentary film, and challenge it to very short videos. That is to get organized in another language, inside the ticking. I hope they submit things I can say 'wow' about. So yes, we're trying to put g. A significant banner for another format. "


Add depth within the social network.

"Exactly, and not the other way around. The idea is not to do light-hearted things, for that Tiktok does not need the docu-creators. The idea is to pick up the web."

A mirror image of reality.

Dokaviv Festival, Photo: Ariel Efron

Will these films reach the Oscars one day?

"The entry threshold for the Oscars is very high, but who knows, maybe one day."

The Tiktok network is of course just one of the changes we offered you as part of the festival.

A change and drama in another sector was recorded for example around the corona, which propelled the aqueducts in Dokaviv.

"You could say, it was a drama. Suddenly we found ourselves doing an entire festival with 120 movies - online. In a short time, about a month, we set up a streaming system from scratch. I think we are the biggest festival in the world to do such a huge event online "It changed in relation to the period before the epidemic. It was a game changer, and made us realize that the brand is strong."

Aren't you afraid that the hybrid option will overshadow traditional viewing?

Maybe people will prefer to watch the movies at home, whenever it is convenient for them.

"I'm not afraid because we are already seeing a trend of selling tickets to the cinemas. People want to see the films properly. And of course anyone who is unable to come will be able to watch online."

As streaming services become more prominent, do you feel that your marketing activities are becoming more intense accordingly?

"The answer is yes. The whole world of cultural consumption, especially in the field of cinema, has changed in the wake of the Corona. More to bring in an audience. "

The center is relative.

Cinema City BS,

The voice of an entire generation

You will soon end a long tenure as CEO, and one of the important milestones during your tenure was the departure of the Cinematheque from its borders, also to the periphery.

"When I entered Docaviv in December 2008, documentary cinema was less popular and we had 17,000 viewers, a significantly smaller number compared to today. : Quality, sociality and up-to-dateness. And already in 2009 we started a gradual departure from the Cinematheque, to the Tel Aviv port and the station complex, for example.

"But beyond this initial exit, on the social side we realized that there is no reason why the quality works of the festival will not be seen in other areas of the country. We soon found ourselves in Maalot Tarshiha, and guess what? No audience came. '

I asked him to at least bring the city workers on the buses, because anyway - creators come to show their films.

And he said to me: 'Galia, I will not bring buses.

It will take time and we will run long distances. '

And he did not bring buses, and we did run long distances, and slowly we grew to dozens of screenings with thousands of spectators.

Today, as mentioned, we are in Maalot Tarshiha and Yeruham. "

What kind of audience did you meet in the periphery?

"An audience that is similar to what we knew, and also not similar in some ways. I realized that each periphery is the center of itself. It can not be projected on the place and its people based on comparison to other places. We only showed social films, but we acted socially. Today, for example, thanks to our arrival in the periphery, an audience of schoolchildren comes to our festivals to watch docu-films every year, and it makes a lot of sense to them. Documentaries as part of the festival. "

What changes does the cultural connection to the periphery actually change, on the street?

"I can say that one of our most important projects is 'Docu Young' - film workshops and documentary film production with teenagers in boarding schools around the country. Every year we team up with several boarding schools around the country to produce the best Israeli documentary filmmakers. "We hear the voice of the younger generation, its difficulties. It is a very significant experience for the youth."

Budgets have not diminished.

Poster of the movie "Leah Tzemel",

In a broader sense, is the government doing enough to promote a documentary culture, and culture in general, in the periphery?


"In general, the state needs to invest much more economic resources in the field of culture, period. It requires investment in creators and excellent work, and in resources that will reach every possible place - and not one at the expense of the other. Culture and art are the soul of the people."

Hili Trooper arrived at your premiere event.

Are you working with him on the issue?

"There is a cinema law that is basically the state's resource for the whole field of cinema. This resource needs to grow. It has nothing to do with personal ties, it has to do with the fact that the state has to allocate more money to culture, and I would be happy if it comes to documentary cinema."

Does the Minister agree with you?

"I'm sure he does, and I guess he's working for that."

The women to Doku

From the meat business, let's talk about politics.

About three years after winning the film "Leah Tzemel, Lawyer" and the uproar it caused by representing Palestinian security prisoners and terrorists - can this event sit with you and the jury in mind, when it comes to choosing winning films, especially those of a political nature?

Did this event influence the mood of the choice, even if in an unconscious way?

"In the end, quality wins, and once there is an artistic choice for films, it is the CEO's job to stand behind those choices.

'Leah Tzemel', like films that present a variety of political opinions and other issues, was chosen because of its artistic quality.

This diversity testifies to our backbone, which gives way to an abundance of opinions, as long as they are represented by a professional and artistic film.

"The testimony to our professionalism is that any film that wins at the festival can submit itself directly to the Oscars, and that's much thanks to Dokaviv's artistic director, Karin Rybkind Segal."

The criticism leveled at Mifal HaPais at the time, according to the publications, led to the idea of ​​stopping funding for the winning prize in Dokaviv, until Mifal HaPais returned.

Is the relationship with him normal today?

"I can testify that there was no reduction in investment and budgets on the part of the Lottery or any other factor."


Do you recognize lobbying, one political activity or another, to promote certain films?


"I do not know such a thing."

On another issue, the film industry is made up mostly of men, while your team is made up of women only.

The reason is ideological, professional or even coincidental?

"I think women are great, but I'm sorry to disappoint you - it's a coincidence. We have no gender preference, and I see importance in adequate representation for men and women in every field. In my intuition, women have a greater representation in documentary cinema, perhaps because women love reality more. I can say that beyond the organic team, to our events, which are quite a few, many people join, including excellent men who complete the picture. "

More resources.

Trooper, Photo: Eric Sultan

This complete picture is expected to be a little less complete soon, with your retirement.

After almost 14 years, why did you even decide to retire?

"It's really a long time, and I think there needs to be a turnover in public management and culture. I'm looking at the next challenge, which for me is to be a mentor and consultant in culture and film, including entrepreneurship and business development. I am also a personal trainer, so I will combine skills in this field. To provide from my professional knowledge, and to help other bodies and projects break through. "

Do you feel worn out after 14 years?

The sense of accountability?

"No, I feel I could go on and on. But the breakup is not simple at all. I am connected to the field, to the role, and I have invested significant years in my life to create a transformation in this place. I am happy to leave a place that is whole, and sure to continue to accompany Dokaviv One way or another. " 

For suggestions and comments: Ranp@israelhayom.co.il

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Source: israelhayom

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