A Film Scholarship without Films? 2022 Symposium

Thank you all for a lovely and lively symposium!

Wonderful workshops!

Dr. C. G. Olesen giving a wonderful workshop on mapping the Desmet collection! Happening now!

We had some awesome presentations in our archivists' roundtable!

First panel is a-go!

Last panel of the day! Tomorrow we start at 10 am, instead of 930. Also, if you want to get more interactive in the workshops, bring a laptop!

Dear attendees,

The first day of the Symposium has ended, and we were very glad to see many of you!

Due to unforeseen circumstances, tomorrow's sessions will begin at 10:00 AM (Israel time), and not at 09:30 AM as first scheduled.

We encourage you to bring your laptops to the workshops, which will begin at 02:30 PM (Israel time).

We hope to see you again tomorrow,
and kind regards,

Alon

3rd panel rocks!

More great presentations for our 2nd panel!

It's on!

Almost starting!

And if you can't come and need a zoom link, let us know!

With our commitment to revitalize historiography in Israeli film studies, we've put together two methodological workshops on cinema history, big data, and digital humanities:

Dr. C. G. Olesen (University of Amsterdam) will share insights on working with the collection of early film distributor Jean Desmet.

Dr. Sarah-Mai Dang (Philips University-Merburg) will talk about visualizing big data in the context of women's film history.

Join us online or in person for these important events this Wednesday!

Our keynote speaker, Professor Eric Hoyt, will be joining us from his home in Wisconsin with a fascinating lecture on global movie magazines, Hollywood pressbooks, and the data of film history.

Don't miss it!! Next Wednesday at 1815...

Getting ready...

Over the past several years, filmmaker Amos Gitai has deposited materials from his four-decade career in different archives across the globe. Inspired by this foray into archiving, he also recently initiated an article collection on "the art of the archive," which draws on writing by various scholars and practitioners, including himself.

Please join us to a conversation with Amos Gitai on the book and the stakes of personal archiving, a week from now at 7pm!

Less researched and commented upon by scholars, the fledgling film industry in 1950s Israel had an intensely intimate relationship with the Israeli government, which turned the former to means of the latter's cultural diplomacy. In his paper, Giora Goodman will show how the government's information services and foreign ministry encouraged the development of the Israeli film industry so as to promote a positive image of the young state, among Jewish and non-Jewish cinema audiences world-wide.

Below are behind-the-scenes photographs of one of those Israeli films which center on Zionist themes, Baruch Dienar's They Were Ten (1960) (from the Mula Eshet photography collection, University of Haifa)

Was Israeli film culture in the 1950s overdetermined by the Zionist demand for asceticism and nation-building? Through his reading of film magazines Kolnoa and Olam Hakolnoa from the period, Dan Chyutin suggests that we would be better served by imagining this culture as cultivating movie fans, rather than Zionist acolytes.

Below, some choice magazine covers and articles from the 1950s...

Over the past few decades, the Israel Film Fund has been a key factor in financing the endeavors of local filmmakers. This support, however, was predicated on reaching certain standards of "proper filmmaking," as evident in the fund's original name - the Fund for Encouraging Quality Israeli Films. In his presentation, Rotem Yifat will address these standards, and show what limits they have set for Israeli film culture.

Below, an article from April 1978 detailing the effort to establish the Israel Film Fund.

Rather than focus only on Israeli films, our symposium takes a broader view of Israeli film culture, and how Israeli and non-Israeli films functioned within it. In this capacity, Jonathan Yovel and Ori Yaakovovich will each present on the limits of film culture in Israel, as evident from national censorship regulations and specific case studies of banned films.

Enclosed, snippets from the massive censorship file of Nagisa Oshima's Empire of the Senses (1976), which did not receive a seal of approval from the Committee for the Appraisal of Films and Plays.

Was pre 1970s Israel absent of proper discussions on cinema -- an "arid desert", to quote critic Uri Klein? In his crucial contribution to our symposium, Boaz Hagin will show how in fact, though absent of cinematheques and film departments, Israeli culture nevertheless engaged in a vibrant and important conversation on film through various means.

As an example, David Greenberg's formative volume The Cinema, here in its 2nd edition from 1967 (photos from Dan Chyutin's private collection)

The Symposium is just two weeks away!
Below is the link to the full program and Zoom registration link, on the page created by the European Network for Cinema and Media Studies.

https://necs.org/node/122892

No less than three of our presentations will focus on filmmaker Menachem Golan, which serves as recognition of his historical significance, after years of scholarly neglect. Don't forget to check out what Rachel S. Harris, Iddo Better Pocker and Orit Rozin, and David Shalit have to say about Golan's works (Eldorado and Operation Thunderbolt) and his overall professional biography...

Also enclosed, a long (13 hr) interview with Golan which is part of the Israeli Cinema Testimonial Database: an invaluable and underused archival resource for Israeli film historians!
https://www.ictd.co.il/%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%9D-%D7%92%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%9F/%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA

Filmmaker turned rabbi Uri Zohar passed away a fortnight ago, leaving an important (and controversial) cinematic legacy behind. Elad Wexler's presentation in our symposium takes us back to the early days of his career, through a careful study of different script versions to Zohar's directorial debut : A Hole in the Moon.

Below, another archival source related to A Hole in the Moon: a publicity brochure made for the film's 1965 premiere at the Ben Yehuda Cinema in Tel Aviv, which was designed by the late Yigal Tomarkin (photos taken by Dan Chyutin, from his private collection)

All the information regarding the conference, including Zoom registration, is also available on the IAMHIST website, linked below:

A Film Scholarship without Films? Reimagining the History of Israeli Cinema Culture through the Archive The International Association for Media and History (IAMHIST) & The Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, Tel Aviv University July 5-6, 2022 All sessions take place at the Mexico Building, Room 206A (with live streaming via Zoom) Event is free

Want to attend the Symposium, but won't be able to be present?
You can attend via Zoom!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebLiKyrHZQu9FHXjeh06TVE_k--zpLbqo1zVUXGu7DvdVTiQ/viewform

Attendance Registration Form Fill this form if you wish to attend the Symposium via Zoom. The link for the Zoom meeting will be sent towards the Symposium's date.

The full program is here!
See anything that's interesting in particular, but won't be able to attend in person? Feel free to register for attendance via Zoom:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebLiKyrHZQu9FHXjeh06TVE_k--zpLbqo1zVUXGu7DvdVTiQ/viewform

Save the dates! Full program coming soon...

Use this form if you wish to attend the Symposium via Zoom:

Attendance Registration Form Fill this form if you wish to attend the Symposium via Zoom. The link for the Zoom meeting will be sent towards the Symposium's date.

A Film Scholarship without Films? 2022 Symposium updated their website address.