May 23 through June 1, 2024, marks the 26th edition of Docaviv – The Tel Aviv International Film Festival. Renowned as the largest film festival in Tel Aviv, Docaviv is the only one in Israel dedicated solely to documentary films. This year, Docaviv presents an exceptional lineup of international documentaries and special events.
With a reputation as one of the world’s leading documentary festivals, Docaviv screens over 120 new local and international documentaries annually. In 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized Docaviv as a qualifying festival for Oscar consideration. Since then, winners of the festival’s Israeli, International, and Short Film competitions have been eligible to compete for an Oscar in the documentary category.
This year’s festival is profoundly affected by the events of Oct. 7 and the ongoing conflict, with films reflecting on challenging times. An example is Jasmine Kainy’s Beyond October 7th, which offers an intimate portrayal of a family confronting trauma and grief. Additionally, the Yad Vashem Award will be presented for the third consecutive year, honoring an outstanding Holocaust-related documentary.
The festival also aims to bring positivity and hope through works unrelated to war, showcasing filmmakers’ resilience and creativity.
The Media Line spoke with Docaviv CEO Limor Aharonovich and with the directors of three standout films featured in this year’s festival: Jasmine Kainy (Beyond October 7th), Ranan Shor Heller (Wake Up, Grandson—Letters to My Rebellious Rabbi), and Ilia Zeltser (Flight 1812: Rediscovering Mom). Our conversations explored the profound power of art, as demonstrated in the festival.
Iliya Zeltser and his wife, Irit Zeltser, working on the movie Flight 1812: Rediscovering Mom. (Courtesy)
CEO Limor Aharonovich pointed out to The Media Line that hosting the festival this year is an achievement in and of itself, let alone showcasing more than 100 films. “It’s a complicated year, and we weren’t sure that Docaviv 2024 was going to happen. Still, we achieved a big festival with a lot of guests and all the competitions as we have every year.”
“We will have a free screen in the Suzanne Dellal Center, and we are doing a whole day of shows in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art with art and culture movies,” she added.
According to Aharonovich, this year’s festival has also become a way for audiences to escape the harsh realities surrounding them.
“When we started selling tickets, we saw how many people were interested. I feel that we give [them] an opportunity to take a deep breath and just fly to a different world. It’s like you can escape to other stories. So many people called me and said that they are very appreciative that we opened the festival as usual,” she said.
Among filmmakers, Jasmine Kainy, the director of Beyond October 7th, is one of the most noticeable participants of Docaviv this year for her story of three generations of the Gad family who survived the horrific Hamas attack on Oct. 7. Beginning just two days after their rescue, the film intimately captures the family’s intense struggle with shock, trauma, and grief on both personal and communal levels. Each family member uniquely deals with the aftermath, highlighting the diverse and profound effects of the tragedy.
Still from Beyond October 7th. (Courtesy)
“Members of the family jumped from the second floor to avoid the fire and the terrorists who were in their house. They all survived; only one of the grandchildren was wounded. They were facing terror and death just like the rest of the kibbutz, but miraculously, they got out of it,” shared Kainy.
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According to Kainy, the documentary is about survival rather than the events of that day.
“When you survive something like this, when your house is burned down, when your community has suffered so many deaths, destruction, and kidnapping, how do you deal with that? I followed them wherever they were to see how they lived with it day-to-day.”
Kainy further explained that her biggest challenge while making this film was to ensure that she was not disrupting the family’s recovery process.
“Our instinct as documentarians is to just go with your heroes and talk to them all the way. But here, I had to really watch my step and be very sensitive about that. Especially with the kids,” she added.
Still from Beyond October 7th. (Courtesy)
Kainy said that one of the stronger segments in her film is the story of 9-year-old Oli and her best friend, Emily Hand, who was kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
“At first, Oli didn’t want to talk to me, and I just stayed away. But slowly, she started coming to me and showing me pictures of Emily. And then finally, in the end, when Emily came back, the two girls filmed themselves doing an interview, and they gave me that clip, and it’s in the film,” said Kainy.
“You don’t really understand the size of the trauma by counting deaths. People who survived this are still hurt. They have to collect the pieces and build their communities again. So, to see them growing from the trauma, finding positivity, being able to help others and help themselves—that’s very important. Yes, there’s trauma, but there’s also hope,” explained Kainy.
She also said that while participating in Docaviv, she became aware of filmmakers from around the world who didn’t want to send their films to Israel.
I feel that Israeli filmmakers are stuck now because we want to tell our stories, the Israeli Jewish stories, the Israeli Arab stories, the Palestinian stories. We want to tell all of those, but the world doesn’t want to listen. I hope that will change.
“I’m not angry with them. I understand that. I don’t agree with everything my government does. Americans don’t all agree with what their government does. I feel that Israeli filmmakers are stuck now because we want to tell our stories, the Israeli Jewish stories, the Israeli Arab stories, the Palestinian stories. We want to tell all of those, but the world doesn’t want to listen. I hope that will change,” she said.
Another standout film at this year’s festival is Wake Up, Grandson – Letters to my Rebellious Rabbi, directed by Ranan Shor Heller. The documentary follows Heller’s grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Heller, a hero of the Battle of Safed during Israel’s Independence War. The film explores the contrasts between religiosity and secularism, religious belief and cinematic passion, and the cities of Safed and Tel Aviv.
The movie is based on an extensive correspondence between 1965 and 1990 in which Rabbi Heller urged his grandson to abandon filmmaking, repent, and have a son to continue the family legacy. When the grandson did not comply, the rabbi made a final request before his death: “Make a movie about me!” In the film’s epilogue, the director changes his name to Ranan Shor Heller and sets out to film The Awakener in the alleys of Safed, a piece his grandfather wrote in praise of the city.
Still from Wake Up, Grandson – Letters To My Rebellious Rabbi. (Yossi Zwecker)
“Our dialogue is in letters from my bar mitzvah in 1965 until his death in 1990. The letters he wrote to me, which I repeatedly answered throughout those years, concentrated on his request to me to leave, to withdraw from filmmaking – which I wanted to do, and I actually do – and instead be a great rabbi,” Heller told The Media Line.
“The film, in a nutshell, is a loving duel between two different points of attack regarding Israeli and Jewish life,” he explained.
Heller said that while this year’s Docaviv festival has fewer international participants, it is still very impressive and successful.
Another fascinating entry in this year’s festival comes from filmmaker Iliya Zeltser. Flight 1812: Rediscovering Mom emerged from a tragic event on October 4, 2001, when his mother, Oksana Zelser, 38, boarded a flight from Israel to Russia and perished after a long-range missile caused the plane to crash into the Black Sea. Everyone on board was killed, including 51 Israeli citizens. Zeltser, who was only 13 at that time, has no recollection of that day. Twenty years later and married, he embarked on a journey to uncover the truth behind the missile attack that killed his mother.
“This film crosses genres. When we began working on it, I realized I had developed psychological amnesia. I had forgotten my mother. Whenever I thought about that moment, I always thought about the plane, but not about her. So, on one hand, the film is an inquiry into the disaster, but it is also a personal investigation into my mother,” Zeltser explained to The Media Line.
In the process of investigation, Zeltser found people connected to the disaster.
“We found the general who, you could say, pressed the button to launch the missile, and we spoke with him. We also talked to the Russian side, including a general from the Black Sea Fleet. It turned out that the actual events are not simple,” he commented. “We know that the American side knows who is responsible, and I believe they should reveal the truth to the public.”
Zeltser mentioned that the hardest part of making the film was overcoming the fear and anxiety that the work was pointless and that nothing would change.
“But deep inside, you know that this is very important. Not just for me, but for the 78 families who lost their loved ones,” he said.
“Films change minds and give people the strength to keep going,” Zeltser added.