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Amos Gitai Shares his View of Cinema at the 12th FICM

On the fifth day of activities at the 12^th FICM, the Guest of Honor Amos Gitai held a conversation in collaboration with ARCA. The talk was moderated by renowned film critic Nick Roddick at the Teatro Rubén Romero.

The extraordinary Israeli director Amos Gitai, who is also an architect, began experimenting at an early age with audiovisual tools in search of new aesthetic methods. With these, he was able to consolidate his particular stylistic and thematic mark on his work, which includes audiovisual, film and literary production, theatrical scenery, filmed sketches and notebooks and reflections, among others. His work is characterized by the use of sequence shots to create sensory effects, the exploration of the history of the Middle East, through issues like homeland, exile, social control and utopia; its complex dramatic structures, such as asymmetric division in Berlin-Jerusalem (1989), spatial montage in Alila (2003) or abrupt narrative breaks in Disengagement (2007), starring, in the latter, the 12^th FICM’s Guest of Honor, Juliette Binoche.

Belonging to the first generation of children born after the creation of the state of Israel, Gitai experienced two major events that marked the course of his career: the Yom Kippur War (in 1973), in which he was on the verge of death after his helicopter was shot down by a missile; and his exile from Israel in 1983, due to the controversy generated from one of his first films, House (1980). These experiences, combined with his social commitment and his critical view, led Gitai to develop more than 80 titles over 40 years. These include a series of thematic trilogies (on exile, the history of Israel, cities and capitalism, among others), to which the well-known film Kadosh (1999), Kedma (2002), Kippur (2000), Eden (2001 and Tierra prometida / Promised Land (2004) belong.

During the event, Amos Gitai and Nick Roddick discussed various aspects of the life and work of the Israeli director:

Amos Gitai on his vision of cinema:

“We need to encourage people to go beyond, to be more demanding, to not accept the conventional and ask questions. […] It’s good not to stick too much to the conventional part because it’s good to innovate and expand film language.”

Amos Gitai on his camera work during the Yom Kippur war.

“The camera was like a shield for me. In the midst of a war, I could see the aesthetic part. I didn’t feel imprisoned in the war situation which would drive anyone mad.”

Amos Gitai on the autobiographical aspect of his films:

“Somehow all my films are big open diaries. Each film is a chapter.”

Amos Gitai on the loyalty of his team.

“I really like loyalty. Like any couple, you have to devote time to get to know one another.”

Amos Gitai on his work with Juliette Binoche in Disengagement (2007):

“Juliette, as all great actresses, likes it when you’re demanding. And you manage to get things from them they didn’t even know they had. People with high standards like challenges.”

Amos Gitai has presented several of his films during his visit at the 12^th FICM. He will attend the following screenings:

• Ana Arabia(2013) – Wednesday, October 22, Cinépolis Centro, Sala 5, 8:30 pm
• Tsili(2014) – Thursday, October 23, Cinépolis Centro, Sala 3, 8:30 pm

You can purchase your tickets: here.

Article by Alejandro M. Azpiri (@nosoyalexalejo)