Here is a calendar of upcoming events, up and down the country. Some are organized by us, others by like-minded organizations and groups.
If you’ve not heard of Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin, you’ll wonder how that could have been once you’ve seen what he does in this film. For dance aficionados, this is surely the most anticipated artist portrait since Wim Wenders’ Pina.
“A spectacular and celebratory investigation of a modern dancer’s creative process, this documentary tracks the four decades-long career of renowned choreographer Ohad Naharin, the artistic director of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company. Thoughtfully and painstakingly researched, the film is packed with visually arresting archival footage from every stage of Naharin’s professional (and personal) life…
Choreographed pieces move in kinetic bursts from the rehearsal studio to the stage and, in interviews, dancers who’ve worked with him and colleagues from different periods offer insights in terms both admiring and blunt. Naharin is similarly expressive – about… the joys of physical expression, his struggles to convey his vision to those tasked with embodying it and the dance-world backdrop against which he developed his singular choreographic style and movement language, known as Gaga.
Heymann, a veteran documentarian whose filmography includes an earlier work about Naharin, skillfully constructs a portrait from these elements, methodically adding layers and sometimes revisiting previously seen footage, arming the viewer with new revelations and a more complicated understanding.” — Lynn Rapoport, San Francisco International Film Festival
Investigative journalism meets conspiracy thriller as Alex Gibney (Going Clear, NZIFF15) goes on the trail of Stuxnet, the extraordinary computer virus that metastasised around the world before it arrived at its target, Iranian nuclear facilities, and performing its mission: exploding uranium-enrichment centrifuges.
Undeterred by muzzled officials, the indomitable Gibney shows how Stuxnet – or ‘Olympic Games’, as its architects called it – was cooked up covertly by the US and Israel, creating a new level of virus complexity and a new class of weapon. One of Gibney’s sources, dramatised as a composite individual and played by a digitally reconstituted actor (one of many striking visual effects), says the worm may never have come to public attention had it not been for a unilateral Israeli move to recalibrate Stuxnet’s code and accelerate its impact. A wider operation had to be abandoned, and Tehran retaliated in kind, attacking US institutions with malware and parading its own burgeoning ‘cyber army’.
Gibney manages not only to illuminate in plain terms how Stuxnet worked, but to also issue a powerful warning about the Pandora’s box it opens. Echoing ideas explored in his WikiLeaks documentary We Steal Secrets, Gibney argues that in the face of an emerging cyber-conflict threat, which is analogous to that of nuclear weapons many decades ago, international norms and rules of engagement must be developed outside the shadows of secrecy and denial. — Toby Manhire
“Zero Days is reminiscent of that scene in Skyfall when Q tells 007 that he can do more damage with his laptop before his morning cup of Earl Grey than Bond can do in a year.” — Nicholas Barber, BBC
The German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt left her indelible imprint on 20th-century thought by coining the concept of the ‘banality of evil’ when reporting on the 1963 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann. This spirited documentary illuminates that often abused idea and draws a larger picture of Arendt’s often conflicted engagement with the defining phenomena of her era – and maybe ours too.
Richly illustrated with historical footage, Vita Activa offers an intimate portrait of Arendt’s life and work – both deeply informed by the aftermath of World War I, the rise of Nazi Germany and its systematic elimination of European Jews.
“Directed by Israeli documentarian Ada Ushpiz, who has degrees in philosophy and history as well as filmmaking experience, Vita Activa closely examines Arendt’s ‘active life’ with the goal of putting us inside her formative experiences, the better to reveal who she was and where her attitudes came from. There are interviews with old friends and academic experts and extensive use of filmed interviews Arendt herself gave, as well as the effective reading of excerpts from her essays and letters by actress Alison Darcy. Though the talk is smart and constant here, Vita Activa also benefits from the director’s sharp eye for effective, often rarely seen newsreel and home-movie footage.” — Kenneth Turan, LA Times
“There are moments in Vita Activa, an urgent and often startling documentary from Israeli director Ada Ushpiz, where I could feel her trying to reach across the decades and talk to us.” — Andrew O’Hehir, Salon
CANTERBURY UNIVERSITY: RAPHAEL WEIN AND NAFTALI GROSS
Tuesday October 25, 12 noon
THE NZ INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS INVITES YOU TO WHAT PROMISES TO BE AN ENGAGING AND FASCINATING ADDRESS
Ethical Dilemmas of Serving in the Israeli Defense Forces: Israel’s war against terrorism.
About the Speakers:
Raphael is a Business Administration and Political Science Student at Ariel University and is a reservist in the IDF. Naftali is a medical student at the Hebrew University and a volunteer paramedic for Magen David (the equivalent of St John’s Ambulance Service in NZ) and is also a reservist in the IDF. Both were combatants in the 2014 Gaza War.
Venue: Logie 104, University of Canterbury, Ilam, Christchurch.
A map showing the location of the venue may be obtained by clicking this link.
Admission is free
Feel free to pass this notice on to anyone else you feel may be interested.
An unsettling vision of military service pervading everyday Israeli life, Samuel Maoz’s (Lebanon) visceral and startlingly unpredictable film centres on a Tel Aviv couple coping with the death of their son, a soldier stationed in the middle of nowhere.
“Maazo’s marvelous, harrowing drama about death and life in Israel marches boldly through the no-man’s-land between realism and surrealism. It’s prize collection of paradoxes, combining an intimate, eviscerating depiction of parental grief ove ra serviceman’s death with an empathic, absurdist rendering of young Israeli Defence Force soldiers manning a remote and otherworldly roadblock…
Foxtrot carries the excitement and punch of a fearless writer-director tackling contemporary material with a bracing cocktail of potent traditional drama, wild black comedy, and serrated style. [It all] comes together as a complex plea for honesty, openness, frankness, and forgiveness. The movie is also, incidentally, a spectacularly effective antiwar film, focusing on the randomness and cruelty of life lived on military roads… Its final image resters like a blow to the chest. It’s a shot that should be seen around the world.” — Michael Sragow, Film Comment
“[Foxtrot] contains some of themost striking, memorable imagery of the year… It’s a film designed tomove you with its depiction of senseless tragedy but also to spark that part of your thinking process that only moviemaking can tap… This multitalented filmmaker has taken that darkness and turned it into something unforgettable for everyone who sees it.” — Brian Tallerico, RobertEbert.com
Awards: Grand Jury Price, Venice Film Festival 2017
Hebrew, Arabic and German, with English subtitles; 113 minutes.
An unsettling vision of military service pervading everyday Israeli life, Samuel Maoz’s (Lebanon) visceral and startlingly unpredictable film centres on a Tel Aviv couple coping with the death of their son, a soldier stationed in the middle of nowhere.
“Maazo’s marvelous, harrowing drama about death and life in Israel marches boldly through the no-man’s-land between realism and surrealism. It’s prize collection of paradoxes, combining an intimate, eviscerating depiction of parental grief ove ra serviceman’s death with an empathic, absurdist rendering of young Israeli Defence Force soldiers manning a remote and otherworldly roadblock…
Foxtrot carries the excitement and punch of a fearless writer-director tackling contemporary material with a bracing cocktail of potent traditional drama, wild black comedy, and serrated style. [It all] comes together as a complex plea for honesty, openness, frankness, and forgiveness. The movie is also, incidentally, a spectacularly effective antiwar film, focusing on the randomness and cruelty of life lived on military roads… Its final image resters like a blow to the chest. It’s a shot that should be seen around the world.” — Michael Sragow, Film Comment
“[Foxtrot] contains some of themost striking, memorable imagery of the year… It’s a film designed tomove you with its depiction of senseless tragedy but also to spark that part of your thinking process that only moviemaking can tap… This multitalented filmmaker has taken that darkness and turned it into something unforgettable for everyone who sees it.” — Brian Tallerico, RobertEbert.com
Awards: Grand Jury Price, Venice Film Festival 2017
Hebrew, Arabic and German, with English subtitles; 113 minutes.
CHRISTCHURCH:
“ASK ME ANYTHING” (AMA) SESSION
WITH
RABBI ARIEL TAL
RABBI OF THE WELLINGTON JEWISH COMMUNITY
19 SEPTEMBER 2019
Following the massacres, it’s clear that there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of minorities in our community. With that lack comes uncertainty, anxiety and even fear. Unfortunately we humans often respond with prejudice and intolerance. One of those minorities is the Jewish community and those who adhere to Judaism.
We are honoured to host Rabbi Ariel Tal to join us for an “Ask Me Anything” session where he will take questions from the floor.
Rabbi Ariel Tal is an experienced educator, Rabbi and marketing expert, serving in positions in both North America and Israel. Rabbi Tal has a education degree from Ohalo College in the Golan Heights, Israel, Rabbinical Semicha from Israel Chief Rabbinate, and is a Personal Coach through Da’at U’Tevuna School in Rechovot, Israel. He has taught at the Netivot HaTorah Day School in Toronto, Kibbutz Lavi Primary School and the educational organisation Livnot U’Lehibanot.
With such wide experiences, Ariel is well able to answer questions on Judaism, Jewish life in Israel, the Diaspora and New Zealand.
Ever wondered what Judaism stood for? What it says about the meaning of life? What Judaism says about how the world ends?
A Jewish perspective on the Middle East Conflict and Palestinian Arab relations? What Jews outside of Israel think of the Middle Eastern situation?
What impression New Zealanders have made on Ariel and his family? His thoughts on New Zealand culture and what its like to live in Wellington?
That’s just a few questions you could ask him.
A rare opportunity to publicly quiz a Jewish Rabbi in person.
Where: Sumner Community Centre, 14-16 Wakefield Avenue, Sumner, Christchurch.
When: 7.30pm, Thursday, September 19.
Admission: A plate of finger food. Please avoid pork and seafood products. A collection will be taken to help defray expenses.
NATIONS BLESS ISRAEL
CELEBRATING ISRAEL’S RESTORATION
I will bless those who bless you, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:1-3)
You are invited to join with us and Nations Bless Israel Melbourne to celebrate the restoration of the State of Israel.
THURSDAY 9:45PM (NZST) ON MAY 14TH 2020
This Thursday evening we are invited to join the Aussies in celebrating Israel’s 72nd birthday. It will be a special event featuring a range of distinguished speakers from various walks of life in Israel and elsewhere. It starts 9.45pm NZ Time, but can be viewed later on Facebook.
This event is a fundraiser for the Rambam hospital and is in honour of the late Peter Kentley. Peter was a Messianic Jew who lived in Melbourne and led the planning for the Australian San Remo commemorations before he became too unwell. He loved Israel dearly and I have happy memories of our times together over there. Sadly he went to be with the Lord earlier this year following a brain tumour diagnosis.
The Guest Speakers include:
- Yuvat Rotem – Director General of Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (and former Israeli Ambassador to Australia and NZ pre 2010) He now runs the foreign ministry and played a key role in brokering the resumption of our diplomatic relations and the return of Ambassador Gerberg.
- Mark Sofer – Australia’s current Israeli Ambassaor; who was born in London.
- Andrew Tucker – distinguished lawyer and Israel legal advocate (ex C4Israel in the Hague)
- Zac Waller – Ha Yovel the organisation that encourages gentiles to help harvest crops in Israel fulfilling biblical prophecy.
- Rabbi Tuly Weisz – an American rabbi who made Aliyah a few years ago seeking to build knowledge and bridges between those who love Israel and Israel itself via his Israel365 website.
This is a free virtual event hosted on Zoom in tribute to the late Peter Kentley who, in partnership with Rabbi Riesenberg, established the inaugural Melbourne Nations Bless Israel last year.
The event may also be viewed on Facebook HERE