Entertainment

Eran Riklis’s latest filmilluminates the experience ofIsrael’s Arab citizens

By Celia Wren February 13

Take great care when filming a story that touches on politics — a principle Israeli

director Eran Riklis was ever mindful of while crafting “Dancing Arabs.”

“The days of political, issue-­driven film are not over, but you have to be cautious,”

Riklis said by phone recently from Tel Aviv. Before anything else, “you have to find

your way in terms of capturing the hearts of the audience, and then you can turn to

their minds.”

Riklis’s “Dancing Arabs,” a poignant, humorous coming-­of-­age tale about an Arab

Israeli teenager, has its D.C. premiere Feb. 22 as part of the Washington Jewish Film

Festival (the film also screens Feb. 27). Hosted by the Washington D.C. Jewish

Community Center, the annual festival runs Feb. 19 through March 1 at various

locations and includes 80-­plus films. Highlights include retrospectives honoring the

festival’s 25th year;; a screening of “GETT: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem,” Israel’s entry

for the best foreign language film at the Academy Awards;; and an appearance by

actress Carol Kane.

The festival seems a suitably high-­profile context for “Dancing Arabs,” which follows

such critically acclaimed Riklis films as “Zaytoun,” “Lemon Tree” and “The Syrian

Bride.”

“Riklis is one of Israel’s top filmmakers at the moment,” says festival director Ilya

Tovbis.

Riklis says he was captivated by the story line of “Dancing Arabs,” which is based on

two autobiographical novels by Arab Israeli writer Sayed Kashua. The screenplay, also

by Kashua, centers on a brainy lad named Eyad (Tawfeek Barhom) who wins a spot at

an academically rigorous Jerusalem boarding school in the 1980s. There, he finds love

with a Jewish classmate, befriends a Jewish teenager who has muscular dystrophy and

develops a taste for Israeli and international rock music.

Fusing humor and serious issues with a classic coming-­of-­age template, the story

seemed “a timeless but timely” opportunity to deal with the experience of Arab citizens

of Israel, Riklis says.

Providing a major assist during the filmmaking was Barhom, whose life story, Riklis

says, resembles Eyad’s in some ways. “He was very, very connected to the character,”

the director says. “It was one of those dream castings, where you feel you’ve done the

right choice on every level.”

And the scenes set in Eyad’s village were filmed in Kfar Kassem, where in 1956 dozens

of Arab civilians were shot by Israeli forces. That tragedy still feels present in the town,

yet, Riklis says, it was probably the friendliest place he has ever visited.

But the director doesn’t have pie-­in-­the-­sky illusions about achieving peace and

understanding. “Don’t suspect me of being stuck in the ’60s,” he says. Still, Riklis says,

shooting “Dancing Arabs” gave him a “harmonious feeling. . . . There’s somethingcoming together here.”

Trees, snow, trees and more snow

Never let it be said that Washington’s diplomatic establishment doesn’t pay attention to

trees. The Embassy of Argentina recently hosted an exhibition of mixed-­media

paintings with an arboreal motif. Now the Embassy of Finland is showcasing “Trees Are

Poems,” an exhibition of photographs by Finnish artists Kristoffer Albrecht, Taneli

Eskola, Pentti Sammallahti and Ritva Kovalainen, complemented by tree-­themed

selections by modern Finnish poets (translated into English). The exhibition, which

runs through March 1, is an adaptation of one that appeared at the Sinebrychoff Art

Museum in Helsinki.

The photographs are largely black-­and-­white. In some, tree boughs hover over the

heads of people or animals — an elk, dogs, a white rabbit — whose presence intensifies

the scene. Snow is another recurring motif. In Albrecht’s “Coming of Winter in Degerby

in Inga,” three shots capture the same tree and ladder, first snowless, then laden with

snow and yet more snow.

“In these photographs, trees are seen as unique individuals, not only an element of

landscape, but also a symbol of happiness and life,” says embassy cultural counselor

Keijo Karjalainen.

Wren is a freelance writer.

Washington Jewish Film Festival Feb. 19 through March 1 at various locations.

www.wjff.org.

Trees Are Poems Through March 1 at the Embassy of Finland, 3301 Massachusetts

Ave. NW. Open to the public Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 202-­298-­

5800. www.finland.org.

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ʬʹʺʹʸKERʤʸʩʩʸʷʤʤʬʧʤʹʸʧʥʠʮʺʩʱʧʩʸʥʡʲʥʣʩʩʠʺʥʰʹʡʚʤʤʩʩʧʬʤʫʬʤʤʱʴʺʥʤʶʥʠʺʤʣʥʲʡʺʴʨʥʷʣʥʲʣʥʲʥʭʩʣʩʷʴʺʱʥʬʡʱʬʾʢʰʠʯʥʣʰʥʬʭʢʥ

ʬʠʸʹʩʡʤʠʸʮʤʩʮʥʠʬʚʡʸʤʤʬʹʸʹʴʠ

ʤʬʷʧʹʬʲʡʹʡʺʥʴʹʭʩʮʲʴʬʿʩʰʠ

ʤʫʩʸʶʭʥʸʢʬʠʨʡʮʬʩʬʹʭʬʲʩʤʬʚʢʬʩʸʮ

76ʩʸʮʢʬ76'1ʩʸʮʢʬ'1ʥʮʫʬʹʮʬʭʩʡʸʲʾʡʾʭʩʣʷʥʸʚʴʬʥʭʩʮʲ

76ʭʩʮʲʴʬʥ76'1ʭʩʮʲʴʬʥ'1ʩʰʠʤʬʥʫʩʸʥʮʹʬʥʩʬʲʥʮʫʬʹʮʬ

ʾʤʣʥʠʴʾʡʤʦʥʮʫʿʷʧʹʮʠʩʤʺʸʮʥʠ

ʭʩʡʸʲʿʡʿʭʩʣʷʥʸʣʥʡʩʲʤʥʸʴʱʬʩʴʸʢʥʩʡʥʨʥʠʚʩʮʱʤʬʹʣʩʩʱʲʥʹʷʚʩʢ

ʤʮʬ76ʤʮʬʩʢ76

'1ʤʮʬʩʢ'1ʥʣʩʩʠʺʠʤʮʩʤʴʥʮʠʬʹʸʥʡʩʢʤʯʮʦʡʲʶʡʮʷʥʶʯʺʩʠʺʲʡʭʩʮʥʬʩʶʤ

ʿʤʣʥʠʴʿʬʤʩʤʨʸʱʤʸʥʮʠʺʠʶʬʚʸʷʠʬʭʩʰ

76ʭʩʰʸʷʠʬ76'1ʭʩʰʸʷʠʬ'1ʪʠʥʺʠʩʶʩʤʺʧʣʰʡʥʹʡʥʹʥ

ʡʬʹʡʭʩʥʱʮʥʹʹʧʭʩʷʩʴʮʤʬʤʷʤʹʸʩʣʩʥʩʬʢʸʨʸʱʤʮʯʥʥʲʡʥʮʹʚʷʥʡʥʸʴʤʩʡʩʨ

76ʩʡʩʨʷʥʡʥʸʴʤ76'1ʩʡʩʨʷʥʡʥʸʴʤ'1ʯʮʦʡʿʭʢʥʩʸʧʠʤʮʧʬʮʤʳʠʣʧʠʠʬʤʩʤʩʥʰʴʺʩʹʢʸʺʥʰʤʩʬʯʫʥʺʮʚʥʰʮʠ

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ʥʰʧʰʠʤʲʹʺʭʩʹʣʥʧʩʸʧʠʚʧʬʮʤʤʮ

76ʤʮʧʬʮʤ76'1ʤʮʧʬʮʤ'1ʠʩʤʤʷʸʴʡʥʯʮʦʤʤʦʤʥʰʷʴʱʤʺʠʶʬ

ʺʥʩʴʬʷʬʸʥʧʡʬʥʯʩʺʮʤʬʥʺʥʰʬʡʱʡʣʲʥʮʩʩʺʱʩʹʭʩʮʫʱʤʤʭʩʩʰʥʩʶʩʬʠʥʷʤʚʧʰʥ

ʤʦ76ʤʦʧʰʥ76

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ʭʥʬʹʺʡʹʥʧʹʩʹʩʥʫʩʱʭʥʬʹʬʚʩʲʡʸʷ

76ʸʷʩʲʡ76'1ʸʷʩʲʡ'1ʸʥʠʬʤʣʡʥʲʤʤʩʥʴʶʹʭʥʷʬʬʠʸʹʩʡ

ʤʬʹʮʮʺʩʣʸʧʚʺʩʰʮʩʩʰʠʿʤʰʩʮʠʮʭʥʬʹʤʹʬʥʫʩʲʩʢʤʬʚʠʡ

ʥʰʺʥʲʶʮ76ʥʰʺʥʲʶʮʠʡ76

'1ʥʰʺʥʲʶʮʠʡ'1ʭʩʹʰʠʤʬʫʬʭʥʷʮʭʬʥʲʡʭʠ

ʧʩʬʶʰʭʩʩʷʬʭʥʬʹʥʰʫʥʺʡʭʲʥʤʦʚʥʲʹʣʮ

76ʣʮʥʲʹ76'1ʣʮʥʲʹ'1ʹʮʮʥʰʣʩʬʬʫʥʰʵʩʴʤʬʺʠʭʥʬʹʤ

ʭʩʠʷʩʨʩʬʥʴʤʥʥʴʸʨʶʩʳʠʿʭʤʩʸʧʠʺʩʫʦʹʺʥʸʥʷʩʫʬʺʥʩʡʥʩʧʚʩʡ

ʬʠʸʹ76ʬʠʸʹʩʡ76

'1ʬʠʸʹʩʡ'1ʬʲʪʺʥʴʺʺʹʤʿʤʸʥʠʴʿʡ

ʮʩʡʸʲʡʿʥʾʩʮʩʣʷʺʺʠʤʩʥʴʶʳʺʺʹʤʬʣʥʲʡʨʩʨʸʮʥʠʺʥʸʣʮ"ʯʠʫ

ʭʥʹʿʸʡʣʠʬʸʥʢʱʲʢʸʫʬʡʠʚʥʸʧʠʬʤʰ

76ʤʰʥʸʧʠʬ76'1ʤʰʥʸʧʠʬ'1ʩʺʬʡʩʷʸʴʱʮʺʥʲʶʤʭʩʠʮʡʮʚʠʸʹʩ

ʭʩʬ76ʭʩʬʠʸʹʩ76

'1ʭʩʬʠʸʹʩ'1ʭʩʰʩʨʱʬʴʥʭʩʬʥʣʢʸʧʠʮʩʰʠʹʚʥʲʺʣʡ

76ʺʣʡʥʲ76'1ʺʣʡʥʲ'1ʬʩʡʷʮʡʭʢʺʴʸʶʡʺʥʶʸʠʡʥʺʩʸʡʤ

ʤʹʲʮʬʥʤʴʩʠʤʣʥʡʲʤʹʺʧʷʥʬʩʺʥʠ

ʡʥʸʷʡʲʣʠʤʮʤʩʤʩʿʤʠʬʤ

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ELLEmustwatch

WHEN MOVIESCROSS PATHS

Adila Bendimerad andLaëtitia Eïdo: two women

behind a camera; twotalents crossing paths incountries and destinies.

made with merchants and passersbywith invitations that everyoneaccepts and that lead you to Jbeil."So we have to invite wanderingAdila to cover the entire, tinycountry.

PLURAL ADILA Writer, director, stage and film actress,Adila Bendimerad is also a producer('Les Jours d’Avant', selected for theCésars 2014). She began with Afro-contemporary dance and theatre.After several Parisian and Algerianplays, she turned to the movies inseveral feature films: 'Taxiphone'(Mohamed Soudani), 'Parfumsd'Alger' (Rachid Benhadj), 'Normal'and 'Le Repenti' (Merzak Allouache).Adila also wrote plays and performedon opera and theatre stages. For herrole as Djamila, in 'Le Repenti' shereceived three Best Actress awards in Angouleme, Rome and Cairo.

THE POLITICS OF THE LAST WORDLike those of her generation,Bendimerad tried repeatedly to"make culture". It always works wellat first. Then, the state stops it."With Nadia Chalabi, our newMinister of Culture, a filmmakerherself, things look a little better. Butwhat can you do against the system?There are several directors who havemade amazing films, superdaredevils, young people whoexperiment to death. It's boiling.Filmmakers are winning prizesabroad. Just like in Lebanon, there is a certain energy that pushescreation. However, we have a highlystructured state, highly centralisedand always wants to have the lastword. It just lets you act and whenyou are known, we get everythingback. I created the Theatre duPrintemps with the means at hand, in a tent. It attracted young people.It was working hard. Then the stateenacted a new law banning non-rational genres to its list," said Adilabitterly. And Wassila Tamzali adds:"It's as if Algeria was theirs…"Belong: a verb that cinema peopleknow little about. It's an Algerianwho acts in Beirut when a Lebanesewoman wants to embody an Algerianheroine. Is this not the strength ofcinema that mixes memberships?

Adila in Beyrouth"I come very often to Lebanon. I leave it and I keep coming back. I love doing that without having the need to understand why," saysAdila Bendimerad, a young Algerianactress who we came across atDawawine, outside a dinner withWassila Tamzali, an Algerian figureof feminism. Adila is acting in aLebanese feature film by GeorgesHachem, a production currentlyunderway. "Georges had spotted meat the presentation of his film 'BallePerdue'. When he offered me a rolein his new film, I immediatelyaccepted. I play the main character;it is a story that takes place betweenLebanon and France, between the80's and 90's." Adila says that sheloves walking in the city and that shelets herself be taken by the air ofBeiruti times and city streets, "likeits energy, chance encounters are

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WOMEN AND SOCIETY’S SURVIVALFadhma is a real legend to Kabyle-Arabwomen. She is a woman who managed tolead the men of her time. "Her intent was,before anything, to be herself; an imageshe encouraged others to become: awhole soul, with an inwardly strong andreal connection with the needs of theworld around him/her. Being a man or awoman did not make a difference." Beingpart of a pious family and meditating alot, the heroine naturally responded tothe call of her people. Asking her to riseagainst the aggression that came with theFrench invasion of Algeria, and morespecifically in Kabylia. There has alwaysbeen a bridge between a woman anddedication, a woman and heroism:"Throughout history, women have had a major role in the survival of societies,similar to the families they live in. Thefight led by Fadhma N’Soumer in 1850met up with Sheriff Boubaghla, Arabhero (and non-Kabyle), who led theresistance in the same way. Together theyallied their efforts, their feminine andmasculine forces, their Kabyle and Arabcultures, to resist a common enemy. It isan even stronger symbol." The film justwon the Silver Stallion at FESPACO, thefamous festival of Ouagadougou, andthree other awards: Best Screenplay, BestEditing and Best Sound! "We still do notknow the reaction of the French public;the film will be projected soon in theatresin France. We are expecting a success."

Eïdo in KabyliaLaëtitia is Lebanese from her mother’sside and hence she has chosen the familyname that signifies "celebration". Frenchby culture, she has made diversity acondition sine qua non of a Lebattitude,crossing over continents and lifestyles. As an artist of theatre and cinema, she isrecognised in France and known acrossthe Atlantic and even Palestine, and shehas made news in her lead role in thefeature film 'Fadhma N'Soumer'.

MODERN-DAY ZENOBIA"Fadhma N'Soumer is a committedcharacter, rooted in the resistance.Whatever the reason may be, for me, sheis a woman who was important toembody," says Laëtitia Eïdo of this role. Andromache and Cleopatra share withher features of her physiognomy andcharacter that she mixed with theirs byembodying them in French productions.It is now in the skin – and mind – of thisZenobia of Algeria, this Joan of Arc ofKabylia, that Laëtitia slipped into cinema,of course, but also for a cause in the nameof "all the battles that should beconducted in the world and that are notfinding the leaders who could actuallymove them forward. Fadhma, in her time,was the symbol of an entire people as a fighter who rebelled against theconditions that were unequal anddiscriminatory. A fight that has particularresonance today…"

THE FREE SPIRITLaëtitia had to learn Kabyle phoneticallyin addition to the six other languages ordialects in which she has played. "It tookme several months, sometimes for eighthours a day with a Kabyle coach, in orderto master the entire film." From France tothe USA, then to the Algerian desert, theactress has worked in all movie genres, allvery different in possibilities and budgets.If the working conditions in a countryunaccustomed to cinematographicproductions are necessarily more difficultthan where culture is more heavilysubsidized, like in France, "cinema with a smaller budget sometimes opens upmore possibilities – like in Lebanon,where beautiful projects are born. And nothing beats the freedom of spiritand creation." Sounds like N'Soumerspeaking...Laëtitia and Adila: two faces,different geographies and one truecountry: cinema.

Antoine Daher

Patric

k Laz

ic.

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