Finding Abraham

A film diary in which Perlov films the minutiae of his and his family's day-to-day life. From these small bits, he builds up a broad picture of life in Israel in the '70s and '80s.

The pro-Palestinian, anti-capitalist, BDSM-provocative, techno-punk performance art ensemble Hatari unsurprisingly drew attention to themselves with their performance at the Icelandic qualifiers for the Eurovision Song Contest. So much so that they won and therefore were allowed to perform at the main event in Tel Aviv. But what now? Should they boycott the event, swallow their idealism, or use their airtime to criticise the host country for their illegal occupation of Palestine? The Icelandic director Anna Hildur joins the boys in the band all the way to the fateful final.

When two young American Jews raised to unconditionally love Israel witness the mistreatment of Palestinians, they battle the old guard to create a new movement opposing Israel’s occupation, and recentering Judaism itself.

In 1961, history was on trial... in a trial that made history. Just 15 years after the end of WWII, the Holocaust had been largely forgotten. That changed with the capture of Adolf Eichmann, a former Nazi officer hiding in Argentina. Through rarely-seen archival footage, The Eichmann Trial documents one of the most shocking trials ever recorded, and the birth of Holocaust awareness and education.

A look inside the work of Breaking the Silence, an organization of former IDF combat soldiers who collect and publish testimonies of soldiers who served in the occupied territories. For six months, director Silvina Landsmann, camera in hand, accompanied the staff of the organization. The many hours of footage have been refined into a film that dives into the heart of Breaking the Silence’s work: guided tours of Hebron and the surrounding area, public lectures and house meetings, internal staff meetings and media strategy. All the while the organization is forced to justify its very existence, both internally and to the broader public, and to justify its place in the political debate. The Good Soldier raises questions about Israel’s dynamic mainstream and the challenges of confronting it.

Israel is governed by Orthodox civil law and yet hosts the world's biggest gay pride. Is this a cynical marketing ploy or a political awakening?

The life of Shalom, The Nazi major officer Adolf Eichmann's hangman, turned ritual slaughterer, encapsulates the story of Israel from the perspective of the 'other'- the marginalized Sephardi prison warden who is forced to do the dirty work of hanging the arch enemy and thus to carry a national burden that dramatically shaped his life. His job in the abattoir, together with his memories of his past, create a fascinating and complex portrait. His voice, yet unheard, from the edge of Israel's historical events, reveals new insights through his unique perspective. Shalom's clear, alternative voice from the margins of society carries a deeply humanistic universal message.

“Everyone here is an artist, there is no problem with art movements” – this is the approach in the painting classes for adults and children at Kibbutz Naan. Footage from the Mishkan La’Omanut established in Ein Harod, from the graduation ceremony of the IDF officers’ course, a comedic ballet show inspired by Swan Lake in Kibbutz Naan, documentation of the construction of the new kibbutz institutions, photos of the ship “Palmach”, and the inauguration ceremony of the monument in memory of the fighters of the Harel Brigade in 1951.

Kibbutz Ein Harod hosts the 18th conference of the United Kibbutz. It is attended by representatives of the kibbutzim, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, and representatives of the government and the Knesset.

Documentation of the innovative and strange agricultural technology in Kibbutz Hulata, footage from the dining room in Givat Brenner and the pantomime show based on it, and documentation of the twins’ conference of “The Kibbutz Family” exhibition in Tel Aviv.

The tenth annual camp of the members of the United Kibbutz in HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed is set up in Tarshiha, where the youth of the kibbutz get up early for group activities and sports games, until night, when they dance around the fire. And in Naan, the mature members set up a court to hold a hearing, comparing municipal education and kibbutz education. Finally, the acceptance ceremony to the kibbutz takes place.

The celebration of the 85th birthday of the sculptor Yaakov Luchansky, in the kibbutz where he lives, Givat Brenner. In the film, footage of the sculptors work process and his sculptures in the workshop at Luchanskis home.