Event Archive

Thursday, August 3rd 2006
Walk On Water with Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah

Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah

This month saw BIFS staging their own screening at the Friends Meeting House in the Brighton Laines. The film initially chosen as part of Brighton’s Pride celebrations, Walk on Water had become imbued with an extra political significance due to the events that had begun to take place at the Israeli and Lebanon border. Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah spoke of the film existing as both an example of a mainstream, domestic cinema as well as a dissenting, critical take on attitudes and policy from within Israeli society.

At the beginning of the post-film discussion our speaker talked of how the issues within the film were raised. Part of the films effectiveness seemed to be its constant and mindful avoidance of what the Rabbi dubbed ‘binary positioning’. This open-minded approach to potentially decisive issues was one that Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah appealed for and an approach that provided the film with a subtle potency.

Many members found the ending to the film problematic, feeling that the flash-forward to Eyal and Pia’s newly-wed life on Kibbutz was unnecessary. Other members felt that seeing a new life come from two very distinct backgrounds was a powerful message of hope. This optimistic conclusion was elaborated on by Geetha J. who spoke of the director, Eytan Fox insisting on the need for hope for the future. The film’s shifts from political thriller, to road movie, to character study caused some members to find it hard to settle into. One member felt that the film was at its strongest when dealing with the growing relationship between Eyal and Axel.

The importance of dissenting voices from within the Israeli film-making community was highlighted by BIFS member Giuliano. He was able to provide the audience with a translation of a letter of solidarity signed by 40 Israeli filmmakers to their Lebanese counterparts. The fact that this letter appeared in an Italian newspaper led to a discussion on the disparity of reporting within the UK.

BIFS would like to thank Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah for sensitively hosting a discussion that - due to on-going political events - was perhaps more emotive than usual. BIFS would also like to thank Mel from Critical Positions for the loan of the screen and all her help on the night. Finally a collection on the evening for the Red Cross Middle East Crisis Appeal raised £42.67, so thanks to all who donated to this cause.

Film Notes

7th June - Viridiana by Luis Bunuel with guest speaker Nigel Floyd

Walk On Water is presented in association with Brighton Pride Week celebrations on Thursday, 3 August, 2006 at 6.30pm, Friend’s Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton with post-film discussion with Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah of Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue.

Entry for film & discussion: £2 for non-members. Free for members.

Walk on Water (Hebrew, English and German with English subtitles) is by gay filmmaker Eytan Fox and is a colourful and multi-layered road movie through Israel and later Berlin with a top international cast, features three main characters - a hit man for Mossad, a gay German youth and his sister in Israel. The film examines the brutalizing effects of the Holocaust and the "victim complex" in the context of the Palestine-Israel conflict, all the while exploring the subject of masculinity, homosexuality and machismo in Israel.

Eyal, a tough Mossad agent, is given the task of getting close to Axel and Pia, the brother and sister who are the grandchildren of one of the last surviving Nazi war criminals, in the hope of tracking down their grandfather who has recently disappeared. Axel, an attractive young gay teacher from Berlin has travelled to Israel from Germany to visit his sister Pia, who is living with her boyfriend on a kibbutz in Israel. Eyal poses as Axel's tour guide for the trip. As Eyal, the cold blooded professional agent, spends time with them, especially the spontaneous and engaging Axel, he finds his deep seated prejudice and preconceptions are challenged and begin to change. On another level the theme explores the role played by the past in the present day lives of young people in Israel and in Germany, and draws parallels with the conflict in the Middle East.

The film will be introduced and post-film discussion led by guest speaker Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah of the Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue. She is a member of the British Friends of Rabbis for Human Rights, which undertakes human rights work on behalf of of the Palestinians, a supporter of the New Israel Fund, whose projects include religious pluralism, Israeli-Palestinian co-existence, and lesbian and gay rights, and is a patron of the Salaam-Shalom Trust.