Trailer for the movie "Small Town" (Hi Jude Productions)
The Israeli film industry probably holds a world record: a particularly large list of directors who started their careers as sports journalists, whether in print or on television.
Among others, members of this club are Ari Pullman and Nadav Lapid, who were sports reporters at the "Ha'ir" local station, and Danny Menkin, who directed reports on the Sports Channel and the legendary round-up program "The 91st Minute".
Following this, Mankin began to develop a career as a director of full-length documentaries, and achieved success in Israel with hits such as "18 kilos of love", which won an Ophir award.
In the previous decade, he moved to America and settled in Los Angeles, and has been active there ever since
.
"As Alon Mizrahi once said? I really wanted to be successful both in Europe and in Spain," jokes the director in an interview with Walla!
culture.
"I've always really liked Israeli footballers who try to reach their potential in other countries. It was clear to me that if I wanted to develop my film career a little more, I would do it in the United States, because I'm in love with American indie cinema and American travel films. It doesn't come in place of doing it in Israel, It just expands the possibilities."
In his new seat, Menkin continued to direct documentaries, for example a successful docu about Olsie Perry.
In addition to this, he also directed a feature film called "Is It You?"
Starring Alon Abutbol, another Israeli who lives in Los Angeles.
Now, for the first time, he is releasing an entirely American film, speaking English, in which all the actors are American.
This is a comedy drama called "Small Town", which will be released this weekend in Israel.
Israeli insolence.
Danny Menkin on the set of "Small Town" (Photo: Hey Jude Productions)
The hero is a recent widower.
When his son wonders where his mother is, he tells him that she is in a fictional place somewhere in the mountains, known simply as "a small town" - hence the name of the film.
The widower dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian, but in the meantime earns a living as an Uber driver.
On one of his trips, he meets a young woman who is also lost, who invites him and her son to join her on an adventure in her father's Chevy car.
The result is a human, sensitive and moving film, in the best tradition of American travel films.
Such films were once popular, but now less so.
The most striking thing about Mankin is that he goes against the current, and contrary to the spirit of our time, directs works that do not contain an ounce of cynicism.
"Barack Obama once said something like this - show me one cynical person who built something significant," he explains.
"I try to make the kind of films that I would like to see myself. This film is an independent production, and if I am already investing so much time, energy and equity, then I will enjoy the process and be complete with it. My production company is called Hi Jude, and all my films have An attempt to take something sad and turn it into something better. In my being, I'm much more than Curtney Mellon. I like the naivety and the simple things. I got to work with Nancy Spielberg, Steven's sister. For so many years, Spielberg's films remain naive, and this Inspiring. There is no lack of cynicism in the world. You don't necessarily need movies for that."
Why did you decide that the hero would be a stand-up comedian?
"I told my partner that I was writing the character of a father, who is unable to talk to his son explicitly about the death in the family. I saw that she had tears in her eyes. I understood that I had something here, but I didn't want the film to be sad and nothing else, and the way was to make the hero a stand-up comedian. I met Los Angels are a lot of Uber drivers, and almost every one of them would introduce themselves as an actor, comedian, etc., and this is where the idea of an unsuccessful stand-up artist who makes a living as an Uber driver was born."
More in Walla!
"Our environment will always frame relationships in a sexual way. People like to judge and put labels"
To the full article
Cynical people don't build anything meaningful.
From "Small Town" (Photo: Hey Jude Productions)
The production of "A small town" was during the Corona period.
"We did the filming without the involvement of the trade unions in the American industry, because then we were obliged to do daily inspections and we didn't have a budget for that," says the director.
"We were in a kind of bubble. We maintained sterile conditions and no one got infected or fell ill, God forbid, but we didn't have an expensive set of tests like in Hollywood productions. Our budget was small and limited, and it could be that it was only thanks to my Israeli audacity that we were able to get such a project off the ground at such a time." .
The young woman who creates the journey at the center of the film is played by a wonderful discovery named Crystal St. John.
Unlike Mankin, who grew up in Israel in a Jewish family with a traditional bent, she grew up in Kansas in a conservative Christian family.
"My religion is cinema, it doesn't matter to me at all where the actor or actress comes from," says the director.
"In Los Angeles, everyone came from a different place. I came from Tel Aviv, Krystal came from Kansas, and Kansas is just as far from Los Angeles as it is from Tel Aviv. The United States is made up of dozens of completely different countries and cultures. Lots of actors and actresses came for auditions. The power Krystal's was crazy and stood in complete contrast to her personality, because in a personal meeting over coffee she was quiet and gentle."
What is it like to be Israeli in Los Angeles and what is it like to visit Israel on days like this?
"I go around a lot in universities, festivals, communities, etc. I feel that I represent Israel. I have to answer questions,
Are you in touch with other Israeli directors who are active in Los Angeles?
"I've been in contact with Guy Nativ since the moment I consulted with him on Skype when I was deciding whether to move. We play tennis together."
On Eric Einstein's Speed Dial.
Danny Mankin (Photo: Hey Jude Productions)
You wrote articles about football and basketball.
Why do you like to play tennis?
"I don't smoke or drink, tennis is my way of releasing stress. Tennis is a process you do with yourself and I really like this process. It's a crazy physical and mental effort, and it's good training in cracking challenges. At the time, I met Richard Linklater at the Jerusalem Festival. He One of the directors who influenced me the most, thanks to films like "Before Sunrise" and "Boyhud", but when we met, we mainly talked about tennis, not about cinema.
The production of "A small town" was during the Corona period.
"We did the filming without the involvement of the trade unions in the American industry, because then we were obliged to do daily inspections and we didn't have a budget for that," says the director.
"We were in a kind of bubble. We maintained sterile conditions and no one got infected or fell ill, God forbid, but we didn't have an expensive set of tests like in Hollywood productions. Our budget was small and limited, and it could be that it was only thanks to my Israeli audacity that we were able to get such a project off the ground at such a time." .
The young woman who creates the journey at the center of the film is played by a wonderful discovery named Crystal St. John.
Unlike Mankin, who grew up in Israel in a Jewish family with a traditional bent, she grew up in Kansas in a conservative Christian family.
"My religion is cinema, it doesn't matter to me at all where the actor or actress comes from," says the director.
"In Los Angeles, everyone came from a different place. I came from Tel Aviv, Krystal came from Kansas, and Kansas is just as far from Los Angeles as it is from Tel Aviv. The United States is made up of dozens of completely different countries and cultures. Lots of actors and actresses came for auditions. The power Krystal's was crazy and stood in complete contrast to her personality, because in a personal meeting over coffee she was quiet and gentle."
"My religion is cinema."
Danny Menkin on the set of "Small Town" (Photo: Hey Jude Productions)
Today there are already countless Israeli sports docu-films, but Mankin directed one of the first in the mid-nineties - "Like Eroasti", which deals with a high school basketball player who dreams of being like Moti Eroasti, the legendary basketball player of Maccabi Tel Aviv.
"One day I was sitting in the Herzliya studios, and my phone kept ringing. Someone kept calling. It was an unknown number, so I had no idea who it was. Finally I picked up - it was Eric Einstein. He said to me, 'Danny, I can't remember What was the name of the boy from 'Like Aerosti' and it gives me no rest. What was his name? What was his name?"
"The answer is of course Gili Smallboard. He played a bit in Australia, and today he lives there."
At the time, you talked about wanting to turn the Olsie Perry docu into a feature film, and bring basketball player Kevin Durant to star in it.
"There is already a script, there are talks with producers, and I want Durant to star.
did not give him rest.
Eric Einstein (Photo: Avi Waldman)
Where did you find the Chevy that stars in the movie?
"I looked for it for a long time, but in Los Angeles you can find everything. I wanted a classic car with a taste of the past, like in James Dean's movies, and a car that would have something dreamy about it, that would undermine the reality of the movie."
What is the most interesting reaction you have received so far for the film?
"I'm never looking to convey a certain message, so viewers' reactions always surprise me. One Holocaust survivor approached me and said, 'The film is my story. When I was in the ghetto, I built my own 'little town' in my head, and that was the place I wanted to go. Such reactions They are one of the most exciting things that happen to me in my journey with the films."
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Danny Mankin
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