THREE EMAILS AND ONE RESPONSE.

Today I got three emails. I sent one angry response. Probably not to the right person.

The first email. The Yiddish Film was accepted to the Tucson Jewish Film Festival, in Tucson Arizona. Seems like in the West coast and in Middle America people, Jews and non Jews love the film. It's wonderful.

The second email. The Yiddish Film Was rejected by the NY Jewish Film Festival. I was somewhat shocked. A film about trying to save Yiddish culture in NY being rejected even by the NY Jewish Film Festival crowd?

Go figure.

Lastly, a woman from Florida read about the film in the Hadassah magazine and wanted to know when it'll screen in Florida. She thought her mother in law would love the film. Since our film was rejected by the Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival. The heart of Jewish life in Florida, I assume Florida is also out of the picture, like NY.
Thus, I sent her a somewhat angrier than most response. Sadly, this innocent person that just wanted to see the film, got the negative energy that others deserved.

Here's my response to this woman :

"Hi Anita,
Thanks for the email.
The film will probably never play in NY or Florida.
Don't know why.
Seems like the heads of the Jewish Film Festivals there don't like the film.
That said, it is getting great response from the rest of the country.
So if she travels she could probably see it in most of the other
Jewish Film Festivals in the country and or in International Film
Festivals not run by Jews in middle America where they found the
subject matter interesting and not embarrassing.

Dan"

For history's sake, I've also included my rejection letter from the NY Jewish Film Festival. For all those skeptics out there that will email me that it's impossible that the NY Jewish Film Festival rejected a film about trying to save Yiddish Theater in NYC. A film that opens with a shot of Gov. Pataki of NY saying on a stage in NY to the Jewish consituency :
"More Than Fifty years ago, Hitler tried to kill a people and their culture. He failed at both"

The email from the NY Jewish Film Festival:

Dear Dan,

Thank you so much for submitting YIDDISH THEATER for consideration in The New York Jewish Film Festival. It was one of many fine films in an extremely competitive process and unfortunately we were not able to select it. We really appreciate you sharing it with us. While the work was not selected for this year’s Festival we hope that you will consider sending us future productions.

Sincerely,

Andrew Ingall, Assistant Curator
Broadcast Archive/New York Jewish Film Festival
The Jewish Museum
1109 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10128 USA
t +212 423 3234; f +212-423-3232
aingall@thejm.org
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/site/pages/page.php?id=76&live_stats=NYJFFOverview

MENTAL MAYHEM AND INTERNET SOAP OPERA :

Well it seems that the forming of the Jordanian Film Institute and the article in the Jerusalem Post is continuing to get attention.
After the premiere of my Yiddish Film I wondered if anyone mentioned it. I googled my name, but one of the first links to pop up was Mental Mayhem. A Jordanian Journalists living in the US's blog.
She responded to the article in the post and got dozens of replies.
Another Blogger responded to her blog.
It's become an Internet soap opera with lots of sequels.
So for the sake of a fair and balanced reporting on my blog, I've pasted below both the Jordanian Amerian Blog- Mental Mayhem, and the second blog titled :
ZIONATION - Progressive Zionism and Israeli Web Log.
But first to Mental Mayhem,

Here's some of the blog, including the response of Ruth Eglash to her own article.
It made me think, what a world we live in today.
Bloggers are the new newspapers, but they have more immediacy, not to mention a faster correspondence with their readers, who can chat with them live.
Here we have a journalist commenting on her own words in the press, to a blogger she quoted her words, in the press, and now the blogger commented about the article she felt her own words were not interpreted in the right way.
WOW... sounds like an internet soap opera.
The age of blogging has given news and reaction to the news a new twist.
As new methods of reporting news and reacting to it develops, it seems there will be more reaction between the reporter and his audience and that interaction will probably change the way we are used to learning about the world.


Here's the link to the blog:
http://www.natashatynes.org/mental_mayhem/

Here's part of the blog where the blogger is reacting to a letter she got from Ruth Eglash, a senior journalist in the Jerusalem Post :

The Jerusalem Post's Ruth Eglash responds to my post

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Ruth Eglash, the journalist from The Jerusalem Post who wrote the misleading article about Jordanian blogger reaction to the Red Sea Cinema Institute. Here is what she wrote:

Natasha,

Thank you for your feedback on the article that I wrote this week regarding the opening of a film school in Jordan that will include Israeli students. I believe the project is an amazing opportunity for the whole of the Middle East and was extremely disappointed that commentators on several blogs that I visited seemed to be against the idea. My article was designed to raise that issue and counter it with positive comments from Israeli filmaker Dan Katzir. I would love to write something more positive but personal attacks on me and my journalism will not help. I simply report what I see and hear.

If, as you say, there is a large group of people in Jordan who believe in this project and believe it can work together with Israeli students then that is another good story. You and your community should send me your comments and perhaps I will do a follow up article showing that there are some people in this region willing to try. I know you are angry that I did not referrence your blog, however I was trying to show where the original comments came from and I believe that it is clear from the text that not only Arab bloggers are against the idea, there were some Israelis making negative comments too.

Regards,
Ruth Eglash

This was my reply:

Dear Ms. Eglash,

Thank you for taking time to respond to my concerns. As I mentioned in my post, there are several flaws in your article. First and foremost, you quote people in your article that are not bloggers. They are anonymous online commenters. A blogger is someone who owns and operates an online journal and not someone who leaves a comment on a blog. As a result, your story, which purports to be about the negative reactions of "Arab bloggers," is just flat wrong.

Let us play devil's advocate here and actually examine the Jordanian bloggers' reaction. The blogs that brought up the Red Sea Cinema Institute initiative were all supportive. As a journalist, why did you fail to note that in your article? And, though there are some negative responses in the comments, it is not hard to find positive comments as well. Look at my blog, Amin or Laith's. As a western-trained journalist myself, I can tell you that your article is simply unbalanced and it willfully misrepresents the facts. You chose negative comments and then misrepresented them as the opinions of bloggers. I wonder why you would so deliberately misrepresent a source. I also wonder about your journalistic research when you simply select the exact same comments I noted in my post. Is that as far as you dug? Did you notice that my post showed "both" sides of the issue, highlighting my support but noting the possibility of controversy.

You indicate in your note to me that you were "disappointed" by the comments. This suggests you understand these are "comments" and that makes me wonder. You note that you "counter it with positive comments from Israeli filmaker [sic] Dan Katzir," as if he is the only source of a positive response. I see this as a personal agenda: Those "terrible" Arabs are against this initiative while "reasonable" Israelis support it. That is the subtext of your story and clearly your intent, proven by the fact that you chose Katzir for a counter but skipped the blogs you used as your source ... and they were all praising it. You made not one mention of this. In closing Ms. Eglash, you chose to dredge up the negative, draft a bogus, misleading headline and paint Arabs as troublemakers. There is no journalistic integrity in this.

Regards,
Natasha Tynes

Posted by Natasha at 02:00 PM in Media watch | Permalink | Comments (39) | TrackBack (0) | Email this post
October 03, 2006
Irresponsible journalism from the Jerusalem Post

Nas drew my attention to the fact that The Jerusalem Post ran a story today about the on-line reactions to Jordan's upcoming Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA). First of all, the title of the Post's article -- Arab bloggers upset Jordanian school open to Israelis -- is completely inaccurate. It was not Arab bloggers who were upset. In fact, both Amin, Laith and myself were absolutely thrilled about the project. It was on-line commenters, most of whom were anonymous, that expressed dissatisfaction with the project. Obviously, the journalist who wrote this piece does not know the difference between a blogger and a commenter.

I also noticed that the journalist -- Ruth Eglash -- decided to highlight the exact same comments that I highlighted on my blog last week without mentioning the fact that I, the blogger, was excited about the project and without making any reference to my blog. It is obvious here that the journalist did not do a fair and forthright job, as she focused only on the negative comments and reported inaccurate information by referring to commenters as bloggers. What irresponsible journalism!


Now of to the second blog, that responded to this article and to the comments left on it by others.
What is the moral of all these texts that appeared online?
I think more than anything, it shows the excitement the new institue raises and the importance that it will succeed for everyone in the region.
As the Hebrew saying goes. Kol Hakavod (i.e. - congratulations) to all those who are working on creating this International institution.

XOX

Dan

Here's the link:
http://www.zionism-israel.com/log/archives/00000259.html



Make Movies, Not War

05.10.2006

(Revised Oct. 7)

Jordanian King Abdullah II wants to set up a Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts in Jordan (RSICA), which will also be open to Israeli film students. Steven Spielberg gave his support to this initiative, that will have a partnership with the American USC:

"When His Majesty the king approached me on the subject of a Jordan-based, world-class film school serving every country in the Middle East, including Israel, I immediately saw the importance and significance of such a venture for the people and the future of the region."


Israeli filmmaker Dan Katzir explains why he thinks this is an important and brave initiative:

"People seem to be very skeptical about this project. I believe that King Abdullah was extremely brave to initiate this program a day after the [president] of Iran made some comments attacking Israel and there was a tense atmosphere in New York."

"I see it as a statement of peace and tolerance and hopefully it will work out," continued Katzir, who said he had joked with the Commissioner of the Royal Film Commission of Jordan about how the world needed to convince those who do not want peace to see that it is much more fun to make movies than war.

"Movies are an amazing way to create dialogue, they have the ability to show the humanity of both sides of a conflict. On the news we only see the rhetoric, we don't see the culture of others," said Katzir, whose films have won 22 international awards and a nomination for the Israeli Academy Awards.


In her Jerusalem Post article about the initiative, Ruth Eglash asserted that Arab bloggers were opposed to the idea. She quoted one alleged "blogger" as writing:

"I read what blogger Laith Majali posted about the film school and it said the school is also open to Israelis. Imagine, sitting next to you will be an Israeli who is an IDF reservist and who may have killed or maimed an Arab a few kilometers away from the film school. And then we in Jordan will help him make films about evil and terrorist Arabs. This is like Israeli film schools admitting skinheads and neo-Nazis," writes one anonymous blogger [commenter] on amatalqa.blogspot.com, the blog of an LA film student.


Maybe the Israeli sitting next to him will not be a Jew but a Bedouin. Maybe he did not maim an Arab while on duty, but evacuated a Jewish settlement instead. And perhaps he won't be making a movie about evil Arab terrorists, but about the wrongs of the Israeli occupation. Many Israeli filmmakers are critical to the Israeli government and the occupation, and their films deal with that in the first place. Right leaning students would probably not attend a film school in Jordan anyway.

Of course the comparison to neo-Nazis is obnoxious. Israelis who point to the dangers of Muslim extremism are not like neo-Nazis but like the people combating them. It would be more like Germany in the 1930s accepting Jews in their film schools who pointed to the dangers of Nazism. Something quite normal and important, that changed with all the anti-Jewish laws in those years that resulted in the biggest genocide we ever witnessed.

However, the Jerusalem Post article did not mention the fact that some bloggers at least were positive about the initiative, and the cited "bloggers" were in fact comments posted on blogs that themselves reported the film project positively or neutrally. Blogger Natasha complained:

Nas drew my attention to the fact that The Jerusalem Post ran a story today about the on-line reactions to Jordan's upcoming Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA). First of all, the title of the Post's article -- Arab bloggers upset Jordanian school open to Israelis -- is completely inaccurate. It was not Arab bloggers who were upset. In fact, both Amin, Laith and myself were absolutely thrilled about the project. It was on-line commenters, most of whom were anonymous, that expressed dissatisfaction with the project. Obviously, the journalist who wrote this piece does not know the difference between a blogger and a commenter.

I also noticed that the journalist -- Ruth Eglash -- decided to highlight the exact same comments that I highlighted on my blog last week without mentioning the fact that I, the blogger, was excited about the project and without making any reference to my blog. It is obvious here that the journalist did not do a fair and forthright job, as she focused only on the negative comments and reported inaccurate information by referring to commenters as bloggers. What irresponsible journalism!


Ruth Eglash read the complaints and hastily changed the online version of her article, replacing 'bloggers' with 'commentators', erasing the 'neo-Nazi' comment (that had also been erased from the blog she quoted it from), and toning down the title to "Arab bloggers: Jordan school can't admit Israelis" (but still failing to cite any blogger that wrote such a thing).

Natasha's critique however also caused some commenters to ventilate their feelings about Jews and Israel and the result is much worse than the comments the JP cited:

I have no problem with jews, i have jewish friends, its u israelis that are the cause of problems in the middle east, and as u said as long is there are zionists in palestine there will always be and there must be resistance, you call it terrorism because of your racist brain washed propaganda doctrine.
I also learned something from talking to zionists, there is no point in talking to them.
*
It's pioneering in the sense jewish IDF militants can learn filmmaking during the week in an arab school then go shoot arabs on weekends. It's an original concept.
Since we are at it, I say we advertise the film school on KKK and Skinheads websites too, to sign them up for the jordan film school. This way we bring jews and neonazis together to help promote peace and understanding. There has been too much
*
While we're at the subject (and sorry for deviating from the main discussion Natasha) I want to point out the Spielberg donated during the last "Israeli"-Lebanese war 1M USD to support "underserved communities in the North" (i.e.: Settlements, ceased Palestinian land, u name it...) to "Israel". Spielberg is one of the sponsors of RSICA...
Which leads me to the thought that prior to the announcement of this project, talks were up and healthy with this donor during war time.
This saddens me...
*
Do you want something creepy just right from the hebrew oven? Here is this horrific article about the use of scinece to study race. Rings a bell? remember Nazi and Japanese studies in genetics? yet here is Israel, out in the open, at a time when its waging a racial war, engages in a racial study to detemine the jewish gene. How scarey.
The things the jewish state gets away with. Do you think Germans today can get away with such a study? The Israelis are sick racist people.


Comments on blogs are often moronic, but what is written here is probably representative of popular views held by many people in the 'Arab street'. Maybe it should not surprise us, if we just look at what newspapers, TV programs and imams in Arab countries regularly say about Jews. Although the original article in The Jerusalem Post was at least clumsy, maybe even malicious, it is clear that there is much opposition against such projects in the Arab world. It is the task of a newspaper to give an adequate picture, and there is no justification for omitting the positive reactions from bloggers and even suggesting that all bloggers were negative. We need the voices of moderation like the above cited blogger and her friends desperately, and they should be heard in the Israeli press.

Many people in the Arab world are opposed to joint projects with Israelis, and that is one reason that there are not many such initiatives. Every time Egypt or Jordan have the courage to launch a joint project with Israel, or some Arab representative meets with Israelis or - God beware - visits their country, the Arab street reacts in large with anger. They repeat the three no's from the infamous Khartoum conference after the Six Day War: no peace, no recognition, no negotiations. Some Arab leaders have understood that making peace with Israel is also in the interest of their country, but most of the Arab street doesn't seem to have changed since that time.

Peace in the Middle East is only possible when also the ordinary people change their minds and see the benefits of it. Opposition to the film academy or other joint projects has nothing to do with the occupation and Palestinian suffering, but with hate against Israel and Jews. No Palestinian has benefited from this hate; quite the contrary, it is one of the causes of the Israeli-Arab conflict and a major obstacle to peace. It would help a bit if the Arab press stops publishing articles and cartoons depicting Jews as evil bloodsuckers secretly plotting to take over the world. And it helps as well if people who oppose rejectionism and anti-Semitism are not ignored by the free Israeli press.

Ratna Pelle

Original content is copyright 2006 by the author. Posted at ZioNation-Zionism and Israel Web Log, http://www.zionism-israel.com/log/archives/00000259.html . Please forward by e-mail with this notice, cite this article and link to it. Other uses by permission only.

Yiddish Theater Film, OFFICIAL L.A. Premiere

The Official Premiere of our Yiddish Film took place at the Mann Chinese #4 on Sunday, October 8th at 2:00 Pm and afterwards there was a wonderful reception with desserts at Trastavere restaurant sponsored by Wells Fargo.

It was a wonderful event.
We had three people open for us.
Director Arthur Hiller. One of Hollywoods greatest directors, whose film career included some of Hollywoods finest films and TV including the Munsters, Love Story, Out of Towners, Man in the Glass Booth and many more.
He was also president of the Academy Awards and head of the DGA.
Moreover, for anyone who's seen Robert Evans film : "The kids stays in the picture" , you've probably seen that Arthur is the man who saved a studio from going under thanks to his film Love Story.
We had the good fortune that Arthur agreed to come say a few words.
Afterwards, Legandary Israeli actor Mike Burstein who also was a huge success on Broadway, in shows like Barnum, (inwhich he played the lead- Barnum)
said some words.
Finally, Holocaust survivor and today Real Estate Mogul Jona Goldrich said words.

So we had three very different but very distinguished guest open for us and kick of the film's first screening in our hometown.

It seems that it's going to be an uphill battle with this film. But people were moved and that gave me the gas to run my engine.

JERUSALEM POST ARTICLE RED SEA FILM INSTITUTE:

The Jordanian Film Institute is creating quite a stir in the middle east.
YNET.CO.IL, the Israel webpage that is affiliated with Yediot, the largest and most powerful newspaper in Israel wrote an article about the new school, based on the USC press release they translated.
It got many dozens of comments for an against it. All had one thing in commen- very passionate.

The Jerusalem Post wrote an article about the Jordanian film Institute.
I got an email with the link to the article. That article also got many dozens of angry emails either for or against it. Many of the responses in it were quite extreme. Why must so many people in the middle east be so extreme. Either left or right. Sometimes I wonder if perhaps the problem in the middle east is that people are so so polarized. If we just had more middle. If people would not need to take one side- either left or right and see everything in that light, perhaps everything would be a little less complicated.

Seems like the a film school for all cultures in the middle east is a little more complicated than envisioned at first. But it also shows the courage of the king ,
I hope his vision will change the way we all see each other.

The Jerusalem Post Article :

Oct. 3, 2006 0:19 | Updated Oct. 4, 2006 9:48

Arab bloggers: Jordan school can't admit Israelis
By RUTH EGLASH


Talkbacks for this article: 67

Jordanian King Abdullah II's promise earlier this month to create a Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts in Jordan (RSICA), which will include Israeli film students, has caused a stir among bloggers on line from all over the Middle East.

"I read what blogger Laith Majali posted about the film school and it said the school is also open to Israelis. Imagine, sitting next to you will be an Israeli who is an IDF reservist and who may have killed or maimed an Arab a few kilometers away from the film school. And then we in Jordan will help him make films about evil and terrorist Arabs. This is like Israeli film schools admitting skinheads and neo-Nazis," writes one anonymous commentator on amatalqa.blogspot.com, the blog of an LA film student.

The project, which was initiated on September 20 in New York by the Jordanian king along with the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California, hopes to enroll men and women from the Middle East in a specialized learning environment dedicated to teaching all disciplines of the cinematic arts.

Participants in the inauguration ceremony also included Elizabeth M. Daley, dean of the School of Cinema-Television; Frank Price, chair of the school's Board of Councilors and USC trustee; Samer Mouasher, commissioner of the Royal Film Commission of Jordan; as well as Israeli filmmaker Dan Katzir; and producer of Syrian descent Malek Akkad, producer of the film Halloween.

To initiate the film school, Abdullah drew on the expertise of Jewish filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who recommended the partnership with USC.

Spielberg, who did not attend the event, wrote in a press release: "When His Majesty the king approached me on the subject of a Jordan-based, world-class film school serving every country in the Middle East, including Israel, I immediately saw the importance and significance of such a venture for the people and the future of the region. I knew as a trustee of USC and a member of the school's Board of Councilors that the university had the exact expertise he needed for this incredible initiative." It was Spielberg's comment about including Israel in the vision for improving the film industry in the region that made bloggers angry.

Among the comments on majali.blogspot.com were: "...world-class film school serving every country in the Middle East, including Israel The New Middle East? You can count me out."

Another commentator by the name of Shlomo responded: "Thank you. I can't [wait] to learn filmmaking in Jordan to make films about terrorist Arabs."

"People seem to be very skeptical about this project," Katzir told The Jerusalem Post in an interview last week. "I believe that King Abdullah was extremely brave to initiate this program a day after the [president] of Iran made some comments attacking Israel and there was a tense atmosphere in New York."

"I see it as a statement of peace and tolerance and hopefully it will work out," continued Katzir, who said he had joked with the Commissioner of the Royal Film Commission of Jordan about how the world needed to convince those who do not want peace to see that it is much more fun to make movies than war.

"Movies are an amazing way to create dialogue, they have the ability to show the humanity of both sides of a conflict. On the news we only see the rhetoric, we don't see the culture of others," said Katzir, whose films have won 22 international awards and a nomination for the Israeli Academy Awards.

"The Middle East does not have a significant film industry," continued Katzir. "And Jordan is in a position to become an international center for people in the area to collaborate."


Construction of the RSICA campus is set to begin in early 2007 in Akaba and its facilities will include digital screening rooms, post-production, animation and interactive media laboratories.

Faculty will be drawn from industry, arts and academic institutions around the globe.

First admissions will be accepted in September 2008.

The King and I...

Last week I was a part of history.
The king of Jordan, and the dean of USC signed an agreement to create a film institute modeled after USC in Akabah.
It will aim at developing the film industry of Jordan and the entire region.
Hopefully in the future the various cultures will be able to learn about one another through cinema.

Here's two websites about it.
One the official press release.
One a blog by those who are skeptic about the success of this venture.

Amidst the militant anti Israeli speeches of the president of Iran and the angry reply speach of the president of the US at the UN and additional pro and anti speeches about Israel, the King of Jordan's actions were extremely brave.
Like his father, he is a smart, charismatic and visionary king that is not afraid to take risks for the benefit of his people and the region in it's entirety.
The Kings words and actions were not only a call to develop art in his kingdom, but also a call for dialogue between nations through culture.


http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/12756.html

http://www.mentalmayhem.org/

Additional links:

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20060921072237/secIndustries/pagMedia/chnMiddle%20East%20Media%20News/obj2DD311F2-F86C-4DF1-B45AC96CACA5C93A/
http://majali.blogspot.com/2006/09/hm-king-announces-jordanian-school-for.html


Here is the blog that was skeptical of the event and the dialogue between nations:

The full articles.
First Mental Mayhem:

Jordan's promising Institute of Cinematic Arts generates online controversy

Thanks to the blogosphere, I've found out about an amazing cinematic project that will be established in Jordan. It is the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA) based in Jordan's Red Sea resort town of Aqaba. I first heard about this great project on Laith's blog and it really made my day knowing that such a highly needed institute would be established in Jordan. Kudos to all those behind it.

However, the announcement of this project is already creating controversy in the blogosphere. The reason stems from a statement by veteran filmmaker Stephen Spielberg, who will be involved in the project:

When His Majesty the King approached me on the subject of a Jordan-based, world-class film school serving every country in the Middle East, including Israel, I immediately saw the importance and significance of such a venture for the people and the future of the region. I knew as a trustee of USC and a member of the school's Board of Councilors that the university had the exact expertise he needed for this incredible initiative.
Source: [University of Southern California]

Some were not happy about having Israelis involved in the project. One anonymous commentator on Ameen’s blog said:

I read what blogger Laith Majali posted about the film school and it said the school is also open to Israelis. Imagine, sitting next you will be an Israeli who is an IDF reservists and who may have killed or maimed an Arab few kilometers away from the film school. And then we in Jordan will help him make films about evil and terrorist Arabs. This is like Israeli film schools admitting skinheads and neo-nazis. Will we go along with anything if the price is right?

Another commentator on Laith's blog said:

"... world-class film school serving every country in the Middle East, including Israel" The New Middle East? You can count me out.

Another commentator on Laith's blog going by the name of Shlomo said:

Thank you. I can't [wait] to learn filmmaking in Jordan to make films about terrorist Arabs.

Regardless of the controversy, I see this project as the materialization of the dreams of so many aspiring Jordanian and Arab movie makers. I am excited.

Posted by Natasha at 10:00 AM in Jordan, my nation

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:

Jordan Signs Cinema Pact With USC
09/20/06

Monarch agrees to create Middle East institute in Aqaba, where qualified candidates can learn about film technique and other cultures.

King Abdullah II of Jordan today presided over a ceremony in New York City marking the creation of the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA) in Jordan’s Red Sea resort town of Aqaba.

The institute is a joint effort of the Royal Film Commission of Jordan and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The institute will enroll men and women from the Middle East region in a specialized learning environment dedicated to teaching all disciplines of the cinematic arts.

The official ceremony took place at the Jumeirah Essex House in New York City. Participants in the event included Elizabeth M. Daley, dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts; Frank Price, chair of the school’s Board of Councilors and USC trustee; Samer Mouasher, commissioner of the Royal Film Commission of Jordan; filmmaker Dan Katzir; and producer Malek Akkad.

The Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts is in line with Abdullah’s efforts to harness the skills of Jordanian youth by exposing them to the latest technologies in filmmaking and production. The institute also would contribute to the monarch’s vision of establishing a hub for intellectual and creative capital in Jordan, where youth in the region can be equipped with the necessary tools for success.

Abdullah drew on the expertise of filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who recommended the partnership with USC, to make this project a reality.

“When His Majesty approached me on the subject of a Jordan-based, world-class film school serving every country in the Middle East, including Israel, I immediately saw the importance and significance of such a venture for the people and the future of the region. I knew as a trustee of USC and a member of the school’s Board of Councilors that the university had the exact expertise he needed for this incredible initiative,” Spielberg said.

Said Mouasher, “The Middle East is a melting pot of cultural richness and diversity with storytelling traditions as old as time, yet contemporary cinematic stories from the region are in short supply. In establishing this institute, we will draw from a diverse and vast pool of cultures and experiences to offer a more complete idea and multifaceted perspective to the viewer and the world audience.”

USC faculty and staff teams traveled to Jordan to conduct pilot programs in 2005 and 2006. Those experiences now will be formally expanded into the RSICA, a fully accredited and free-standing graduate school that will offer a three-year Master’s of Fine Arts degree through advanced education in cinema, television and a wide range of screen-based media.

Construction of the RSICA campus is set to begin in early 2007 in Aqaba, a special economic zone in Jordan on the Red Sea bordering Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. Its facilities will include digital screening rooms, postproduction, animation and interactive media laboratories; sound stages with green-screen and motion-capture capacities; high-end professional video production packages and an extensive digital and print library.

Faculty will be drawn from industry, arts and academic institutions around the world. Students will be admitted from Jordan and the entire region, with first admissions in September 2008, and the first graduating class in June 2011.

Admission will be based on a competitive portfolio, clear evidence of talent and outstanding personal expression as well as strong potential for creative collaboration.

In the pictures :
Rabbi Wolpe interviews me after the screening of my film at Sinai Temple. Los Angeles, Tu Baav.

Life in the age of connectivity.
Someone asked me if I have a picture of myself, and if I could email it to them. I told them there are quite a few out there on the web.
But then I realized that indeed there are two problems.
1. There's another Dan Katzir, also living in LA, but with a different fate than mine. So I might be confused with him, once again.

2. Some of the newspapers that once printed pictures of me, eventually move them to the archive files, and the text is still online, but not the picture.

So I realized it's important to somehow find a way to keep alive those pictures I liked that have been living on the web for some time, so that I can enjoy the memories behind them also in the future.
I had been in many events over the course of the alst few years and yet sometimes, you need to see an image of a certain event to remember how much fun it really was.
One of those ultra cool events which is very memorable to me is the event at Sinai Temple, one of the biggest, dare I say THE biggest temple in LA.
Hundreds of young people showed up to see my film there, and afterwards I had a talk on stage with Rabbi Wolpe - one of the most influential Rabbi's in LA.

It was on Tu Baav- kind of like the Jewish Valentines day. After that event for weeks, I met young people who told me they had found love and/or their boyfriend/girlfriend in my event.

Back in the day, on Tu Baav, girls would wear white and go dance in the fields. The boys would see them and choose their wives.
I wonder if anyone got married thanks to that event?
Hopefully one day someone will tell me I was a little help in their quest for love.
Back in the day, I remember seing a few pictures of that event online.
Today there's only one left.
There used to be more mentions of that event online.
Memory is still a problem today, so some of the typed memories have been washed away deleted into oblivion.
Luckily there still lives online some thoughts about this event.
I chose two. One by a blogger who had a funny point of view on that event. The other by the official Jewish organization in the city.
Here's the first metioning of that event on the web.

It's by someone named Luke Ford who wrote about it in his blog :
(http://www.lukeford.net/archives/updates/030816.htm)




Out For Love...Be Back Shortly

Wednesday night marked the festival of love in the Jewish calendar - TuB'Av. Being a pious Jew, I showered, put on some nice dacks and made my way to Temple Sinai in Westwood.

A large crowd was already gathered at 7PM as I lined up to buy my ticket. The staff were running out single dollar bills. The attractive lady taking my money was someone I've dated in the past year and could date again one day.

I find ten singles in my wallet and I keep digging. Finally, 13 singles and a $5 bill. I push the money towards her. I'm closing my wallet when a Trojan condom falls out on the table.

Lady: "Oh my. Well, I'm afraid we can't take that."

Blushing, I grab my rubber and stick it in my pocket, seeking a rationale for what just happened. It is the festival of love, after all, and one should be prepared. Stranger things have happened after Rabbi Wolpe has given one of his eloquent sermons about expressing ourselves Jewishly.

Perhaps I'll start a cultural trend. Soon men will indicate their interest in a woman by discretely dropping an extra-large ribbed condom in front of her.

My older Israeli friend Eitan grabs me and pats my stomach. "You're getting fat," he says. "Soon you'll look like the rest of us."

I find a seat far from the rest of the crowd (which will grow to 300) and read my book on literary feuds.

Restless after a few minutes, I have to walk out past the new assistant rabbi.

Luke: "Are we allowed out? Wait, you're a Conservative rabbi. You believe in the spirit of the law vs the letter of the law. If you were Orthodox, no way out.

"I've got to do a mitzvah, rabbi."

He lets me out.

I return five minutes later.

Luke: "I just had a drink of water."

Rabbi: "Did you say a blessing?"

He starts me with the Hebrew phrase and I finish it.

Rabbi Wolpe introduces Dan Katzir's film - Out For Love...Be Back Shortly, which garners this deserved review on imdb.com:

Dan Katzir has produced a wonderful film that takes us on a roller-coaster ride through a real romance set in the troubles surrounding modern Israel. For anyone who's ever been in love, the film brings back the uncertainties, the insecurities and heartache that make love so bitter-sweet.

The atmosphere of fear and isolation that came with the difficult times in Israel at that time just serve to intensify the feeling. Instantly, you are drawn in to Dan's plight, and you can't fail to be deeply moved.

You can't write drama and passion like this - the contrast between the realities of Dan's desperate, snatched relationship with Iris, and the realities of a state in turmoil make this eminently watchable. If you have an ounce of passion, and have ever been in love, see this film.

During question time, we find out that publicity over the film drove the couple starring in it apart. Iris appears a lovely sweet feminine beautiful girl who becomes an officer in the Israeli army. She has since married and divorced. Dan has yet to marry.

The cell phone of the woman next to me goes off during the discussion. To my horror, she answers it and starts talking. I shoot her a homicidal glance along with a dozen other people.

"Turn it off," I hiss. I find this appalling manners, and I have very few of those.

She hangs up on her call and turns off her phone. On Friday night in shul, she started taking notes on the rabbi's sermon. I wanted to grab her pen and stab her with it.

"You can't write on Shabbos," I hissed.

Woman: "But otherwise I'll forget what he's saying."

She keeps writing.

It is against Jewish Law to write on the Sabbath. This does not bother me so much in the abstract when Jews do it. It freaks me out when it happens in a traditional synagogue on the Sabbath right next to me. There's a big difference in Judaism between sinning privately and sinning publicly. When you sin publicly, you challenge the moral foundations of the community and drive out the divine presence.

To comfort myself from all this wickedness Wednesday night, I make for the desert table and scarf down several pastries and pieces of fruit. I grab a napkin and wipe my hands and face.

Two girls next to me: "We're going to have to start charging you for those."

Women, they're always taunting and teasing me. Won't they learn to respect the man, even when I drop my rubbers in front of them?

Why Are There Fewer Marriages?



Here's what the official Jewish websites in LA Wrote :

Tu B'Av, Out for Love…Be Back Shortly

Sinai Temple's ATID young adults group and The Jewish Federation's Young Leadership Division recently added a new twist to Tu B'Av, the Jewish Festival of Love.

Young professionals took a break from their busy lives to attend a screening of the award-winning film, "Out for Love…Be Back Shortly." In addition, they had the opportunity to meet the man behind the movie, Dan Katzir, and participate in an open dialogue with him and Rabbi David Wolpe.

Israeli filmmaker Dan Katzir's docudrama, "Out for Love…Be Back Shortly," about an ordinary young couple's quest for love in extraordinary times and set against the time of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin's assassination, has won 13 International Awards. Rabbi David Wolpe, senior rabbi at Sinai Temple, author and renowned contributor to numerous major publications, is one religious leader who can always be counted on to offer valuable insights into Judaism that seem to resonate with today's young Jewish professionals.

ATID, which means "future" in Hebrew, is a new program of Sinai Temple that seeks to connect young Los Angeles Jews and provide social opportunities, while fostering a deeper engagement with their Judaism through a variety of innovative and exciting programs and events. For more information, call (310) 481-3244

The Jewish Federation's Young Leadership Division is a dynamic group of people – ages 20's to mid 40's – who are committed to building a stronger Jewish community through community involvement, education and fund raising. For more information, call 323-761-8248 or visit the Young Leadership Division´s web page at www.jewishla.org/html/younglead.htm.


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jewishla.org/federationinfocus/assets/images/photo_TuBAvWolpeKatzir-Sept.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jewishla.org/federationinfocus/html/sept03_tubav.html&h=183&w=280&sz=9&hl=en&start=7&tbnid=SicZK6dhJIDTzM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=109&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddan%2Bkatzir%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official_s%26sa%3DG

SEPT 12 2006
Five years and one day to the events of Sept 11.
Five years and one day to the beginning of WWIII.
It's different this time, as it's a war not against a well defined army.Not a war between nations. It's a war against terror.
I know a little about terror. Terrorism killed my grandfather and dealt my family a very painful blow.
Scary.
Very scary.
Five years from the time, we had seen the unimaginable. Two of the largest buildings in the world collapse infront of our eyes live on TV.
Brings me back to memories from my country.
When prime minister Itzchak Rabin and King Hussein of Jordan started the peace proccess they both talked about the WAR FOR PEACE.
I didn't understand what they were talking about. Why does peace need a war?
After the events of the last decade I have fully understood. Indeed it's a war to make peace.
What makes it harder is that many in the world are afraid to admit there's a real war going on at all.
Like my favorite singer Leonard Cohen sings:
There is a war between the ones who say there is a war and the ones who say there isn't.

Seems like the world is deteriorating into two camps. Not based on religion or culture but based on political beliefs. There are those nations who believe in peace co existence and tolerance and those who don't believe in it.
Seems like the latest events have even woken voices in the Arab world who tended to be quiet and not express their concerns. Perhaps there is hope. Perhaps all this unrest was powerful enough to wake up people across this planet to the dangers surrounding us.

What's going to happen by September 11 2011 ? Where will the world be in the 10 year anniversary?
Will the forces of peace win, or will the forces that benefit from war, death and destruction succeed in their master plot to make the world an uglier place?

I continue volunteering in those organizations that support my beliefs, that we should try to mak the world a nicer and more decent place to live in.
If every person volunteers a little bit. Just a tiny bit. Perhaps the world could be a more decent place by 2011.


Of to another subject.
Jewish history in the US.
Today I got an email from One of the largest and most influential Jewish Film Festival in the US in the East Coast.
They aren't interested in showing my film about the battle to keep Yiddish Theater alve in the US.
I guess making a statement that Yiddish theater is important , is not something the heads of that festival want to endorse. A pity.

A very old wise man told me you have some chances at changing your future, but you can't escape the past.

I made the journey to accept the culture of my past.
Hopefully other young people will be allowed to also see it.

At least in myspace.com we've passed the 1500.
Seems like younger people are discovering the film and loving it.
Hopefully now their parents will also allow them to see it.

Sad that the first two episodes of my video diary were shown in that Jewish Film Festival with great success.
Both the first episode, Out for love, about the peace proccess between Jordan and Israel, and the second episode, Shivah, about the death of the first generation of Israeli's had filled the theater there.
What a pity that the third episode of my life work will not be seen there now.
Sad and ironic that the episode about American Jews is receiving the least amount of acceptance by... American Jews.
I guess like Groucho Marx, there are those who will never join the club that accepts them.

My film opens with Gov. Pataki at an event shortly after Sept. 11 saying :
Hitler tried to kill a people and their culture. He failed at both.
Did he not kill the culture?
And how ironic how all these things tie together, including being rejected in the east coast on such a day.
Life is sometimes greater than fiction.

Sept 12, 5 years later.
A sad day in general.
Seems like fear continues to control people both in the Jewish world and outside it.
Fear of not belonging.
Fear of not being accepted by the outsiders.
Fear of fear itself.
What can I say.
What the world really needs is more love.


XOX

Dan