GREED!
Today I saw a street painter paint an image of Adam and Eve on a small canvas on the sidewalk. The same time the major news outlets were reporting about the fighting between the Occupy Oakland crowd and the police and 300 protestors were arrested.
The occupy wall street crowd- regardless if they're fighting directly against wall street in NYC or if they're in other cities are fighting the infiltration of massive amounts of greed into our human ecosystem which has left 1% of the population with the majority of means and caused the other 99% to become less and less able to persue their own pursuit of happiness.
Greed is what allowed such a small minority to gain so much power and wealth while many others are homeless and/or losing their homes. I was reading today that 12 million homes are underwater meaning there are 12 million families that might end up without a home.
Assuming there are 3 people living in a home - that would come to 36 million people. If 4 people live in a home that's 48 million people. Massive numbers of people that might end up without a home.
Back to the artist on the street - looking at his Adam and Eve I started thinking how wise the Bible was that the first story about humans had to do with their being in a garden of Eden having almost everything they could have - and they were willing to risk it - to get a little more. They had everything but one tiny apple - but for that apple they were willing to lose the garden of Eden forever.
Scary times we live in. So many people out of work - some predict unemployment is really at 20% if you count everyone - meaning one in five people has no work, many losing their health insurance and homes -
Is humanity also destined to lose the garden of Eden? That said - from the raw data many feel so many people feel they've been kicked out of the garden of Eden that they wouldn't mind revisiting it with a torch and burning it down - cause they feel our society isn't their home any more and that they've been destined to live outside the garden without ever getting permission to enter.
I look at the street painter and move on. He continues painting his garden of Eden on the cold winter streets.
Time will tell who will win - the cold harsh streets and their jungle street logic - where it's always the survival of the fittest regarldess if he's the majority of the minority - or the ancient biblical tale of the price everyone pays for greed.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Monday, May 23, 2011
OK WHAT NOW?
Dan Katzir and Lizabeth Zindel have just signed on to a new film project titled: OK, WHAT NOW?
The project will be produced by Lizabeth Zindel and New Love Films. Directed by Dan Katzir and written by Lizabeth Zindel and Dan Katzir.
Zindel has published three successful books with VIKING, a division of Penguin Books - including Girl of the Moment (optioned by 20th Century Fox), Secret Rites of Social Butterflies, A Girl, A Ghost, & the Hollywood Hills!
The project is scheduled to be shot in 2012.
Violins at Wartime
The new film produced by Dan Katzir and directed by my Yael Katzir had it's sneek peak screening at UCLA to rave reviews by the audience that was deeply moved.
Here's the link to a short report about the screening:
http://www.international.ucla.edu/israel/news/article.asp?parentid=121213
At a reception preceding the film screening, Yael Katzir chats with UCLA Professor Emeritus of Hebrew & Comparative Literature Arnold Band and his wife, Ora Band. (Photos by Shalev Netanel)
'Violins in Wartime' Discussion Draws 100 Guests
In an event marking Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, the Israeli day of independence, members of the public and the UCLA community engaged in a discussion with award-winning director Yael Katzir on her latest film, set against the backdrop of the Lebanon war of 2006.
More than 100 people gathered to meet award-winning Israeli filmmaker Yael Katzir at a UCLA event marking the Israeli independence day holiday, Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, on April 28. Sponsored by the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, the occasion included a sneak preview of Katzir’s newest work, "Violins in Wartime."
Film producer Dan Katzir (left), pictured with Laura R. and Dan Lefkowitz, an associate professor of music at UCLA, joined the discussion of Yeal Katzir's 'Violins in Wartime.'
Set against the backdrop of the second Lebanon war in the summer of 2006, the film portrays the perseverance of a remarkable group of musicians – master artists and students – who continue teaching and practicing violin in spite of the ongoing conflict. The artists struggle to keep worry at bay and to maintain sanity through music. The film is a rare document portraying aspects of Israeli life seldom seen in the media, in which the violin becomes a symbol of abiding Jewish-Israeli resilience.
Katzir has written and directed numerous acclaimed works including "Praying in Her Own Voice" (2007), "Shivah for Mother" (2004) and "Company Jasmine" (2001). Following the reception and film, she and her son, producer Dan Katzir, engaged in a lively discussion with the audience.
Date Posted: 5/16/2011
The new film produced by Dan Katzir and directed by my Yael Katzir had it's sneek peak screening at UCLA to rave reviews by the audience that was deeply moved.
Here's the link to a short report about the screening:
http://www.international.ucla.edu/israel/news/article.asp?parentid=121213
At a reception preceding the film screening, Yael Katzir chats with UCLA Professor Emeritus of Hebrew & Comparative Literature Arnold Band and his wife, Ora Band. (Photos by Shalev Netanel)
'Violins in Wartime' Discussion Draws 100 Guests
In an event marking Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, the Israeli day of independence, members of the public and the UCLA community engaged in a discussion with award-winning director Yael Katzir on her latest film, set against the backdrop of the Lebanon war of 2006.
More than 100 people gathered to meet award-winning Israeli filmmaker Yael Katzir at a UCLA event marking the Israeli independence day holiday, Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, on April 28. Sponsored by the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, the occasion included a sneak preview of Katzir’s newest work, "Violins in Wartime."
Film producer Dan Katzir (left), pictured with Laura R. and Dan Lefkowitz, an associate professor of music at UCLA, joined the discussion of Yeal Katzir's 'Violins in Wartime.'
Set against the backdrop of the second Lebanon war in the summer of 2006, the film portrays the perseverance of a remarkable group of musicians – master artists and students – who continue teaching and practicing violin in spite of the ongoing conflict. The artists struggle to keep worry at bay and to maintain sanity through music. The film is a rare document portraying aspects of Israeli life seldom seen in the media, in which the violin becomes a symbol of abiding Jewish-Israeli resilience.
Katzir has written and directed numerous acclaimed works including "Praying in Her Own Voice" (2007), "Shivah for Mother" (2004) and "Company Jasmine" (2001). Following the reception and film, she and her son, producer Dan Katzir, engaged in a lively discussion with the audience.
Date Posted: 5/16/2011
Monday, November 22, 2010
HOME - a new feature by Daniella Albin
Actress producer Daniella Albin just completed her new script titled HOME and started collaborating with Dan Katzir and New Love Films on it's screen adaptation.
The film is an Israeli romantic comedy that will be shot in NYC and Israel. The script is scheduled to be shot late 2011 and the film will be released in 2012.
Currently New Love Films and Daniella Albin are in negotiations with several companies on it's production.
Actress producer Daniella Albin just completed her new script titled HOME and started collaborating with Dan Katzir and New Love Films on it's screen adaptation.
The film is an Israeli romantic comedy that will be shot in NYC and Israel. The script is scheduled to be shot late 2011 and the film will be released in 2012.
Currently New Love Films and Daniella Albin are in negotiations with several companies on it's production.
Monday, July 26, 2010
SOUNDS OF WAR
Sounds of war, the new documentary by Yael Katzir, produced by Katzir productions and New Love Films which will also handle distribution is nearing completion.
Sounds of war takes a personal view on the Lebanon war through the eyes of world class musicians who were invited to study music on the border between Lebanon and Israel.
Sounds of war is a very touching and moving film about art during war time and the meaning of music as a way for dialogue between people.
The film is rumored to premiere in summer 2011.
Sounds of war, the new documentary by Yael Katzir, produced by Katzir productions and New Love Films which will also handle distribution is nearing completion.
Sounds of war takes a personal view on the Lebanon war through the eyes of world class musicians who were invited to study music on the border between Lebanon and Israel.
Sounds of war is a very touching and moving film about art during war time and the meaning of music as a way for dialogue between people.
The film is rumored to premiere in summer 2011.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
This article was just published in newspapers around the world. Once again the specter of Kozo Akomoto, the terrorist who killed my grandfather returns to haunt. This saga will never end for me or for anyone who was part of that terror attack that left so many families without their loved ones.
Here's just one of many articles from the Washington Times. I chose this newspaper not because it's the longest or most inclusive but purely cause it was the first one that appeared when I googled for this new development.
I couldn't read other articles. It annoys me to much.
U.S. court fines N. Korea for terror plot
$300 million for attack in Israel
By Ashish Kumar Sen 6:35 p.m., Monday, July 19, 2010
A federal court has found North Korea guilty of aiding terrorists and has fined Pyongyang $300 million in connection with a 1972 terrorist attack in Israel.
However, it is unlikely North Korea's totalitarian regime will recognize the U.S. court's decision and pay the fine.
"North Korea's demonstrated and well-known policy to encourage, support and direct a campaign of murder against civilians amply justifies the imposition of punitive damages against it," Judge Francisco A. Besosa of the U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico said in a ruling Friday.
Noting that North Korea's "budget for the export of terrorism is not known," Judge Besosa said the court would adopt the "typical punitive damages award of $300 million."
The lawsuit was filed by the family of Carmelo Calderon-Molina, a U.S. citizen who was killed in the attack at Lod Airport, now known as Ben-Gurion International Airport, in Tel Aviv.
Mr. Calderon-Molina died trying to protect a pregnant woman. Another U.S. citizen, Pablo Tirado-Ayala, was injured in the May 30, 1972, attack.
The attack was carried out by the Japanese Red Army (JRA) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) with material support from North Korea and North Korea's Cabinet General Intelligence Bureau.
Mr. Calderon-Molina and Mr. Tirado-Ayala were among a group of Puerto Ricans who had traveled to Israel on a pilgrimage of Christian religious sites.
Three JRA members, who had arrived at Lod Airport from Italy, took automatic weapons and grenades from their luggage and began shooting into the crowd at the terminal.
Twenty-six people were killed and more than 80 wounded in the attack.
Two of the terrorists were killed by self-inflicted wounds; a third, Kozo Okamoto, was overpowered by an airport employee.
During interrogations by Israeli authorities, Okamoto admitted that he and his fellow attackers were JRA members and the attack had been carried out in conjunction with the PFLP.
Okamato was convicted in an Israeli court and received a life sentence. He was freed in 1985 as part of a prisoner release, and is believed to be living in Lebanon.
Bruce Bechtol, a professor of international relations at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, served as an expert witness in the case.
"The evidence was overwhelming," Mr. Bechtol said in a phone interview. "A lot of this was about closure for the families, and accountability. This is just the beginning."
Families of dual U.S.-Israeli citizens who were killed or injured in Hezbollah attacks on Israel in 2006 also have filed a lawsuit against North Korea.
"This suit is being brought against North Korea because it built the tunnels and the underground facilities for Hezbollah that enabled it to attack Israel during the 2006 war, and because North Korea also supplied them with the rockets that they used," Mr. Bechtol said.
He said the 1972 case is important because it set a precedent, but the 2006 case is even more important because it shows that North Korea continues to be a state sponsor of terrorism.
North Korea did not defend itself in the case, and repeated attempts by The Washington Times to contact the North's mission to the United Nations in New York went unanswered on Monday.
Here's just one of many articles from the Washington Times. I chose this newspaper not because it's the longest or most inclusive but purely cause it was the first one that appeared when I googled for this new development.
I couldn't read other articles. It annoys me to much.
U.S. court fines N. Korea for terror plot
$300 million for attack in Israel
By Ashish Kumar Sen 6:35 p.m., Monday, July 19, 2010
A federal court has found North Korea guilty of aiding terrorists and has fined Pyongyang $300 million in connection with a 1972 terrorist attack in Israel.
However, it is unlikely North Korea's totalitarian regime will recognize the U.S. court's decision and pay the fine.
"North Korea's demonstrated and well-known policy to encourage, support and direct a campaign of murder against civilians amply justifies the imposition of punitive damages against it," Judge Francisco A. Besosa of the U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico said in a ruling Friday.
Noting that North Korea's "budget for the export of terrorism is not known," Judge Besosa said the court would adopt the "typical punitive damages award of $300 million."
The lawsuit was filed by the family of Carmelo Calderon-Molina, a U.S. citizen who was killed in the attack at Lod Airport, now known as Ben-Gurion International Airport, in Tel Aviv.
Mr. Calderon-Molina died trying to protect a pregnant woman. Another U.S. citizen, Pablo Tirado-Ayala, was injured in the May 30, 1972, attack.
The attack was carried out by the Japanese Red Army (JRA) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) with material support from North Korea and North Korea's Cabinet General Intelligence Bureau.
Mr. Calderon-Molina and Mr. Tirado-Ayala were among a group of Puerto Ricans who had traveled to Israel on a pilgrimage of Christian religious sites.
Three JRA members, who had arrived at Lod Airport from Italy, took automatic weapons and grenades from their luggage and began shooting into the crowd at the terminal.
Twenty-six people were killed and more than 80 wounded in the attack.
Two of the terrorists were killed by self-inflicted wounds; a third, Kozo Okamoto, was overpowered by an airport employee.
During interrogations by Israeli authorities, Okamoto admitted that he and his fellow attackers were JRA members and the attack had been carried out in conjunction with the PFLP.
Okamato was convicted in an Israeli court and received a life sentence. He was freed in 1985 as part of a prisoner release, and is believed to be living in Lebanon.
Bruce Bechtol, a professor of international relations at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, served as an expert witness in the case.
"The evidence was overwhelming," Mr. Bechtol said in a phone interview. "A lot of this was about closure for the families, and accountability. This is just the beginning."
Families of dual U.S.-Israeli citizens who were killed or injured in Hezbollah attacks on Israel in 2006 also have filed a lawsuit against North Korea.
"This suit is being brought against North Korea because it built the tunnels and the underground facilities for Hezbollah that enabled it to attack Israel during the 2006 war, and because North Korea also supplied them with the rockets that they used," Mr. Bechtol said.
He said the 1972 case is important because it set a precedent, but the 2006 case is even more important because it shows that North Korea continues to be a state sponsor of terrorism.
North Korea did not defend itself in the case, and repeated attempts by The Washington Times to contact the North's mission to the United Nations in New York went unanswered on Monday.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
FLOWER POWER
Just came back from Northern California where we were filming all week our new documentary: FLOWER POWER.
Filming is in high gear and we have already partnered with LUCK FILMS, Willie Nelson's production company which is very exciting.
We have also teamed up with Lati Grobman, who is executive producing this film with us. Lati Grobman's latest film - Righteous Kill was an international hit, teaming up the two mega stars- Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The two haven't worked together for many years and many fans of the two were eager to see the two of them together again and weren't disappointed.
Principal shoot of FLOWER POWER will be until November 2010 and the film is scheduled to be released in April 2011.
Just came back from Northern California where we were filming all week our new documentary: FLOWER POWER.
Filming is in high gear and we have already partnered with LUCK FILMS, Willie Nelson's production company which is very exciting.
We have also teamed up with Lati Grobman, who is executive producing this film with us. Lati Grobman's latest film - Righteous Kill was an international hit, teaming up the two mega stars- Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The two haven't worked together for many years and many fans of the two were eager to see the two of them together again and weren't disappointed.
Principal shoot of FLOWER POWER will be until November 2010 and the film is scheduled to be released in April 2011.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Like many filmmakers I've also got into the new DSLR craze and just purchased my Canon 5D. One of the frustrating things is the lack of information out there for documentarians about this new technology. So to help the five people that look at this blog, I've decided to share a little bit of what I've learned as I'm learning it.
I've already had a few shooting days with this camera with phenomenal results and I do urge filmmakers on a tight budget to purchase this camera as the quality and the ability to shoot it low light make it an ideal candidate for making docs.
The disadvantages are:
1. Sound
2. Price
3. More technical knowhow than just shooting on a simpler prosumer camcorder -
But
The ability to get images that are superb and the abiliity to shoot in low light with very little light compensate heavily for the hassle of building a system rather than purchasing a camera that has it all.
Anyways, more about this camera and what I've learned about it in the next blog.
I've already had a few shooting days with this camera with phenomenal results and I do urge filmmakers on a tight budget to purchase this camera as the quality and the ability to shoot it low light make it an ideal candidate for making docs.
The disadvantages are:
1. Sound
2. Price
3. More technical knowhow than just shooting on a simpler prosumer camcorder -
But
The ability to get images that are superb and the abiliity to shoot in low light with very little light compensate heavily for the hassle of building a system rather than purchasing a camera that has it all.
Anyways, more about this camera and what I've learned about it in the next blog.
Like many filmmakers I've also got into the new DSLR craze and just purchased my Canon 5D. One of the frustrating things is the lack of information out there for documentarians about this new technology. So to help the five people that look at this blog, I've decided to share a little bit of what I've learned as I'm learning it.
I've already had a few shooting days with this camera with phenomenal results and I do urge filmmakers on a tight budget to purchase this camera as the quality and the ability to shoot it low light make it an ideal candidate for making docs.
The disadvantages are:
1. Sound
2. Price
3. More technical knowhow than just shooting on a simpler prosumer camcorder -
But
The ability to get images that are superb and the abiliity to shoot in low light with very little light compensate heavily for the hassle of building a system rather than purchasing a camera that has it all.
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