Ride the Wave (pic: Mike Guest)
The 23rd edition of Docaviv, taking place in Tel Aviv from 1-10 July, will present a total of 116 documentaries, of which 31 are world premieres. The festival will take hybrid form and will include a geo-blocked online program in addition to the on-site screenings.
The festival will open July 1 withQueen Shoshana by Kobi Farag and Morris Ben-Mayor, which tells the story of the first Israeli diva, Shoshana Damari. The film is also selected for Israeli Competition.
Docaviv Artistic Director Karin Rywkind Segal, says: “This year’s festival comes at a troubled time, a time of conflict and the aftermath of violence. This is why this year’s program, and the voices and stories it amplifies, reflect the times – by showing protests and calls for change, struggles for freedom of speech, basic liberties, and human rights, the relations between humans and nature, and the need to save the only planet we have. We want to look at our history and our present and use the power of film to create dialog and provoke thought on a variety of burning issues.”
World premieres
Docaviv’s 2021 selection boasts 31 world premieres, 28 of them Israeli films and 3 from around the world: A Jewish Life (Panorama), about a survivor of four concentration camps who dedicated his life to helping refugees make their way to Israel, is directed by Austrian filmmakers Christian Krönes, Florian Weigensamer, Roland Schrotthofer and Christian Kermer; Ride the Wave (Panorama, pictured) by Martyn Robertson, the coming-of-age journey of 14-year-old Ben Larg from Scotland who took the surfing world by storm; and Shimon Dotan’s Dayton Diaries (Masters), a deep and compassionate portrait of an American city in the grips of the opioid plague.
Competitions
Among this year titles in the International Competition, are Nanfu Wang’s In the Same Breath; Hogir Hirori’s Sabaya; Jessica Kingdon’s Ascension, fresh from its world premiere at Tribeca and celebrating its international premiere at Docaviv; Camilla Nielsson’s award-winning film President; Sundance hit Misha and the Wolves by Sam Hobkinson and Salomé Jashi’s Sundance hit Taming the Garden; Alina Gorlova’s IDFA winner This Rain Will Never Stop; and festival hit The Last Hillbilly by Diane Sara Bouzgarrou and Thomas Jenkoe.
Competing for Docaviv’s newest award, Beyond the Screen, presented in memory of Docaviv’s late founder Ilana Tsur, are films whose directors or subjects work to change our social, ecological, and political reality. International films shortlisted for the award include Dieudo Hamadi’s Downstream to Kinshasa; Vicenta by Darío Doria; and Inside the Red Brick Wall by Hong Kong Documentary Filmmakers.
Selected for the Depth of Field Competition are nine documentaries “exhibiting unique cinematic styles and distinct voices”. The international selection features Theo Anthony’s All Light, Everywhere; Pacho Velez’ Searchers; A Man and a Camera by Guido Hendrikx; and Her Socialist Smile by filmmaker John Jianvito in which Hellen Keller’s famous resourcefulness is shown in a new light as the film delves into her activism.
The Shorts Competition, referred to as “the cherry on this year’s Docaviv cake,” features, among others, Berlinale Golden Bear winner My Uncle Tudor; When We Were Bullies by American experimental filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt; award-winning Listen to the Beat of Our Images; and The Game, a choreography for a soccer referee who skillfully navigates between the players, the fans, and his father, who sits in the stands.
The Israeli Competition was announced in May 2021.
As in previous years, the winners of the Israeli, International and Short Competitions at Docaviv will be eligible to compete for an Academy Award.
Docaviv special guests in 2021are Gianfranco Rosi, Julie Goldman and Hogir Hirori.
