COM’s Evening of Short Films from Tel Aviv attracted a full house Friday night. Three short films were shown, all made by students of Tel Aviv University’s film school. Curator Geral Peary did his best to tiptoe around the sensitive politics surrounding Israel, though some of the films addressed these issues in subtle, enlightening ways.
Pini Tavger, who was present Friday night (and in town for the Boston Jewish Film Festival), directed two of the films, Pinhas and Weitzman Street #10. Tavger starred in the third film, Dark Night, directed by fellow student Leon Prudovsky. Tavger is an alumnus of TAU’s film program, and was a little embarrassed to admit that he was a contestant on the Israeli version of Dancing with the Stars, and hosts the Israeli version of Beauty and the Geek.
All three films were exceptional, especially for student work from a country with a still developing film industry. The films also shared a common theme of Russian immigrants to Israel, as Tavger is of Russian descent.
Pinhas, directed by Tavger, told the story of a young Russian boy in Tel Aviv. Pinhas’ mother sleeps all day, works all night, and often makes him leave the apartment when her friend, Yossi, comes over. While he waits outside for his mother, Pinhas notices how happy a passing religious family looks, and decides that he wants to become religious as well, though his mother disapproves. Pinhas was beautifully shot, and seemed to be autobiographical of Tavger’s own experiences. The film was funny and light-hearted, but still contained a deeper message that is unexpected with such a young protagonist. An excerpt of the film can be seen here.
Weitzman Street #10 portrayed a Russian family arriving in Israel, looking for their new house as the sirens signaling a missile attack go off. Since they do not speak the language, and do not know what the sirens mean, the family tries to find safety with an Israeli family, but have trouble communicating. Weitzman took on the delicate task of blending missile attacks with humor, and succeeded. The film was bright, but still aware of the grave subject it was addressing.
The final and most serious of the films, Dark Night, was about Israeli soldiers whose jeep explodes after hitting a land mine in an occupied territory. Scared for their lives, the soldiers seek refuge in a Palestinian home. However, the wife of the household is pregnant, and the stress of the situation forces her into labor. In the film, Tavger plays a soldier with Russian parents, and when he discovers that the Palestinian woman is originally from Russia, the two connect with an old Russian lullaby. Dark Night addressed the issues Peary was purposely skirting, and in an event like this, it’s best to let the films send the profound messages.
