Docaviv 2012

Films will be screened in the new wing of the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, the Tel Aviv Museum, ZOA House and the Port of Tel Aviv, where a special compound will be open to the public free of charge throughout the festival.

The festival will be opened with Alison Klayman’s Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, which premiered at Sundance, winning the Special Jury Prize, and will also open the prestigious Hot Docs festival in Toronto. The film draws a portrait of the visionary Chinese artist and thinker who blurs the distinction between art and activism, courageously confronting those who try to hold him back.

The festival programme combines the best locally produced Israeli films with a selection of top documentaries from around the world. At the centre of the festival are the competitions – an Israeli competition, an international competition and a student competition – with more than NIS 190,000 to be distributed in prizes, including an unprecedented NIS 70,000 to the overall winner. The programme will also include dozens of additional screenings that deal with a variety of topics: art, social justice, music, the Arab spring and more.

Portrait of the artist from Ai Weiei: Never Sorry. Director: Alison Klayman

Among other things, this year’s festival pays special attention to the global economic crisis and the wave of protest that swept the world. A series of films covers the Arab world, from Egypt to Yemen, Syria to Dubai and more, alongside films dealing with the economic and moral crisis in Western society. A special programme, in conjunction with Beit Ha’am (“House of the People”) Cinema, will show movies on activism and protest, which will be followed by workshops and master classes.

Premiering at DocAviv will be a video art programme that includes works that blur the distinctions between video art and documentary film. Under the heading, “Privatised Ideologies”, Israeli and international projects will be presented that show a world in which old ideologies have collapsed, leaving behind an empty space.

A Tribe Called Quest (USA, 2011). Directed by Michael Rapaport

Additionally, films about music and musicians will be screened in the open air at the Port of Tel Aviv in a special outdoor experience. Subjects include Bob Marley, Paul Simon, U2 and A Tribe Called Quest. There will be workshops for professionals and amateurs: Docu Agenda, the first meeting of The Forum for Promotion and Enhancement of Films for Social Change, founded by Docaviv and the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund, with a workshop under the guidance of Morrie Warshawski; Konsosnat, a workshop on composing music for films and documentaries; a master class with the director Petr Lom on cinema and human rights. The closing event will be held in Kikar Habima to honour art in Tel Aviv – admission free.

Additional information on the Docaviv website