Origin: Israel | Documentary | Director: Michal Aviad | 60 minutes

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Ramleh

Michal Aviad

In July 2001, Aviad completed directing and co-producing RAMLEH (60 min,
beta, co-produced by Yulie Gerstel,) a social-political film about the
lives of four women in the town of Ramleh. Ramleh, a Jewish- Arab town, is
a powerful example to the disintegration of a country of displaced people
torn by religious, national and cultural differences. The film premiered at
the Jerusalem International Film Festival.

Sima and Orly have recently turned their backs on secular life and joined the ultra orthodox “Shas” party. Svetlana is a recent Jewish immigrant from Uzbekistan desperately trying to adopt an Israeli identity and establish an independent life for herself and her two daughters. Jihad is a Palestinian Muslim, born to a family of refugees, searching for a national identity while conflicted by the fact that she is also an Israeli citizen. Having completed law school, she alternates between wanting a career and a strict tradition that does not allow her the freedom she seeks. These four women live in a religious, national, and cultural labyrinth that does not allow them to meet. Their stories are told against the backdrop of Ramleh, Israel, between the general elections of 1999 and 2001.

Festivals and Awards:

Jerusalem International Film Festival (2001); San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (2002); Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York (2002); Israel Film Festival, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston (2002); FIPA (2002);One World Film Festival (2002); Rome International Film Festival (2002); Munich International Documentary Film Festival (2002); Mumbai International Film Festival (2002); Istanbul International Documentary Film Festival (2002)

Director: Michal Aviad - Producer: Michal Aviad, Yulie Gerstel - Production Company: Aviad Gerstel Productions - Cinematographer: Yoram Millo - Editor: Era Lapid - Original Soundtrack: Jonathan Bar-Giora

Supporter(s): The New Fund for Cinema and Television, Telad, Soros Foundation, the Cinema Project of the Tel Aviv Foundation. The Public Council for Art and Culture, Samuel Rubin Foundation

Subtitles: English, Hebrew

Director's interview: https://takriv.net/english-article/interview-michal-aviad/