Amos Gitai-Film Screening of "Kadosh"

Second of a three-part film series curated by Ayda Melika and presented by the College of Environmental Design. Amos Gitai (Ph.D Architecture '79) will be on hand for the screening and discussion that follows. Francesco Spagnolo, curator of the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC Berkeley will discuss Kadosh with Gitai. ABOUT THE FILM: Israel, says film-maker Amos Gitai, "is a country that consumes its own history at incredible speed." There's not always time for reflection there, he says, and that's where he comes into his own as a film-maker. "I like to use the medium to pose questions, to deal with this very irritated place called Israel." (1) Kadosh, the third film in the trilogy City (which also includes Zichron Devarim/Past Continuous (1995), Yom Yom/Day after Day (1998), is an Israeli film about the ultra-orthodox Jewish sect of Hasidim, where men make the decisions and women are seen, narrowly, as vessels for the production of sons. It is a very angry film, and has caused much discussion in Israel and within American Jewish circles, where most people share its anger. The film takes place in Mea Shearim, an area of Jerusalem where life is regulated according to ancient and unwavering laws. It tells the stories of two sisters, one married, one single but in love with an unacceptable man by the cultural standards. The film, directed by longtime Israeli documentarian Amos Gitai, sees the story largely through the eyes of the women, who sometimes share rebellious thoughts like naughty schoolgirls: Their men spend their days in the study of the Torah, they observe, but women are not allowed to read it--perhaps because they might not agree that it prescribes such a limited life for women. A full movie review is available from the New York Times.