Ram Loevy
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Ram Loevy (
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: רם לוי, born August 1, 1940) is an Israeli television director and screenwriter. He has written and directed and documentary films that challenge the status quo on such issues as class conflict,
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...
, the
prison system A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In 1993, Loevy was awarded the Israel Prize in Communication, Radio and Television in 1993 for his life's work. Loevy is Professor Emeritus of Cinema and Television at
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
.


Biography

Ram Loevy was the son of Theodor Loevy, a
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
and his wife Elisa, originally from Poland. His father was the editor of the '' Danziger Echo'', a prominent
Jewish newspaper A Jewish newspaper is a newspaper which focuses on topics of special interest to Jews, although Jewish newspapers also include articles on topics of a more general interest as well. Political orientations and religious orientations cover a wide r ...
in the Free City of Danzig, who had been jailed for publishing
anti-Nazi Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
articles in his paper. Upon his release he fled to Poland, but that country later expelled him in the months leading up to World War II, under pressure from the authorities in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. He and his wife arrived in Palestine just three months before Ram Loevy was born. Loevy grew up in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
, where he attended the Carmel School and Municipal High School A. As a boy, he was active in the
Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...
and in the paramilitary Gadna program, in which high school age boys and girls undergo paramilitary training in preparation for military service. It was in the Scouts that he met his wife Zipora. Upon being drafted to the Israel Defense Forces, he served in a Nahal unit that combined military training with agricultural work on a kibbutz. He was sent to Kibbutz
Gal'ed Gal'ed ( he, גַּלְעֵד, ''lit.'' Monument) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Menashe Heights with an area of 14,500 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In it had a population of . History ...
in northern Israel, near the large
Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...
town of
Umm al-Fahm Umm al-Fahm ( ar, أمّ الفحم, ''Umm al-Faḥm''; he, אוּם אֶל-פַחֶם ''Um el-Faḥem'') is a city located northwest of Jenin in the Haifa District of Israel. In its population was , nearly all of whom are Arab citizens of Is ...
. He later worked on Kibbutz
Sde Boker Sde Boker ( he, שְׂדֵה בּוֹקֵר, lit. ''Herding Field'') is a kibbutz in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Best known as the retirement home of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ram ...
in the
Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its sout ...
. Upon completing his military service, Loevy majored in Economics and
Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. At the same time, he dabbled in
theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
by participating in student productions, and worked at the national
Voice of Israel Voice of Israel was a Jerusalem-based private global broadcast network staffed by media professionals with a Zionist and often religious orientation, who saw their mission in pro-Israel advocacy (''hasbara'') and combating the global pro-Palesti ...
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
as a program editor, actor, producer, director, and skit-writer.. In 1967, upon completing his degree, he traveled to London to attend the London Film School (then known as the London School of Film Technique). Loevy's stay in London was cut short by the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
. Loevy returned to Israel to serve in the army. Soon after the war, he returned to London to continue his studies and worked as an assistant director at
Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...
for the British
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
/
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
adventure series ''
The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on IT ...
''. At the same time, he was also an announcer for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's Hebrew-language department.


Media career

Loevy made his first foray into film as the assistant director for a documentary film, ''Sand Screen'' by Baruch Dinar, with American journalist Drew Pearson. This was immediately followed by work on the documentary '' I Ahmad'' ( 1966), directed by Avshalom Katz, for which he served as the executive producer and co-screenwriter. The film told the story of an
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
laborer's journey from the
Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...
to Tel Aviv. In 1968, while in London, Loevy proposed to create a documentary film about the many rifts in Israeli society. Though the BBC expressed interest in the project, Loevy abandoned it in order to return to Israel and help the
Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station ''Kol Yisrael'', which made its first broadcast as an independent st ...
launch the country's first attempt at television broadcasting, Channel 1, which began broadcasting on 2 May 1968. In addition to his work on the new channel's weekly shows, he also directed a number of documentary films for it: * ''
Barricades Barricade (from the French ''barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denot ...
'' (
1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
), which examined the Arab-Israel conflict from the perspective of two families, one Jewish and one Palestinian. * ''Israel in the '80s'', (2 films, 1971), speculating on the future of Israeli education. * ''Don't Think Twice'', (
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
), about preparations by the
Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. History ...
for a new stage production by
Nisim Aloni Nissim Aloni ( he, נסים אלוני, 24 August 1926 – 13 June 1998) was an Israeli playwright and translator. Biography Aloni was born Nissim Levi to poor Bulgarian Jewish immigrant parents in Mandate Palestine. His family lived in Florentin ...
. The film was nominated for the prestigious
Prix Italia The Prix Italia is an international Television, Radio-broadcasting and Web award. It was established in 1948 by RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana (in 1948, RAI had the denomination RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane) in Capri and is honoured with the ...
for Radio and Television. * ''Time Out'' (
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
), on encounters between young Arabs and Jews. Already in these early works, Loevy focused on two themes that would dominate his laterprojects: the tense relationship between Arabs and Jews in Israel, and the role of education and art in shaping a society. His next documentary would introduce another key theme: the inequities of class disparity and discrimination between Jews and Arabs in Israel, and between Jewish Israelis. * ''Second Generation Poor'', (
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...
), was a two-part series that offered a chilling look at the effects of poverty in Israel. In 1971, he directed seven short films based on the
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
of
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
writer Kadya Moldovsky.


First features for television

These films can be divided into two groups: two films released in 1972, and two released in 1975. They are: * ''Rose Water from Port Said'' (
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
), based on a story by Gideon Talpaz, tells of a landlady who runs a boarding house in Jerusalem at the time of the British Mandate. One day, she receives a Black slave from the Sudan as a gift. Though the film was set in the relatively distant past, in 1932, this first attempt at drama already hints at two of the major themes that appear throughout Loevy's later work: class distinctions and ethnic differences. * ''The Fifth Hand'', also from 1972, breaks from the serious nature of Loevy's themes to tell the story of a group of people addicted to the game of
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. Nevertheless, his insights into the role that leisure activities play in people's lives would be echoed over thirty years later in one of his most riveting documentaries, ''Sakhnin, My Life'', about the Bnei Sakhnin football club from the Arab town of
Sakhnin Sakhnin ( ar, سخنين; he, סַחְ'נִין or ''Sikhnin'') is an Arab city in Israel's Northern District. It is located in the Lower Galilee, about east of Acre. Sakhnin was declared a city in 1995. In its population was , mostly Musl ...
. * ''The Bride and the Butterfly Hunter'' ( 1974) is a quirky,
surrealistic Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
film version of a play by
Nisim Aloni Nissim Aloni ( he, נסים אלוני, 24 August 1926 – 13 June 1998) was an Israeli playwright and translator. Biography Aloni was born Nissim Levi to poor Bulgarian Jewish immigrant parents in Mandate Palestine. His family lived in Florentin ...
about a bride who flees her wedding and a clerk who flees his humdrum existence by escaping to the park every Wednesday afternoon to hunt—and release—butterflies. The encounter between the two takes place in a park, where political propaganda is broadcast over a loudspeaker system. Though this is not integral to the story, it indicates that even in the most whimsical encounters it is impossible to escape the overbearing presence of political forces exploiting the conflicts in Israel for their own advantage. This film was selected to represent Israel at the Prix Italia. * ''Stella'' (
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
) is a love story about an affair between a
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
teacher and a messenger boy. It was also selected to represent Israel at the Prix Italia.


''Khirbet Khize''

In 1978, Loevy was propelled into the spotlight for his dramatization of the novella '' Khirbet Khize'' (חרבת חיזעה) by S. Yizhar. The story, written in May 1949, tells of how Israeli soldiers expelled the
Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
inhabitants of the fictional village of Khirbet Khize from their homes toward the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Though controversial, the story was well-known, and had been incorporated into the Israeli curriculum. S. Yizhar was a highly respected author, a recipient of the Israel Prize, and served in the
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
from 1949 to 1967. Loevy first proposed the dramatization of the story in 1972, but was rejected by the Israel Broadcasting Authority. He submitted the proposal again in 1977, this time with a script by Daniella Carmi, hoping that the film would be used to mark Israel's 30th Independence Day. This time the film was approved, and he was given a budget of IL700,000, an enormous sum at the time. He filmed in the West Bank and completed the film in August of that year. There was some debate over whether the film should be screened because of its controversial nature, but after a screening before the board of the IBA, it was decided to go ahead. In 1977, while the film was being produced, a new government headed by Menachem Begin was voted into power,
Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...
visited Jerusalem, and people from across the political spectrum began to question whether it should be screened, given the sensitivity of potential peace negotiations. ''Khirbet Khize'' was originally planned to be aired on 16 January 1978, but on that day the joint Israeli-Egyptian Political Committee first met in Jerusalem, and it was deemed inappropriate. When the talks broke down in February, it was decided to screen the film in the context of a political talk show to enable a public debate. A decision was made to reconvene the IBA board to make a final decision, as two members were opposed, but in the end, Minister of Education Zevulon Hammer stepped in and blocked the film from being aired at all. This prompted a bitter debate in Israel, with Knesset member
Yossi Sarid Yossi Sarid ( he, יוסי שריד‎; 24 October 1940 – 4 December 2015) was an Israeli politician and news commentator. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment, Ratz and Meretz between 1974 and 2006. A former Minister of ...
of the Labor Party declaring that "
Freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
in Israel has been brought to half mast!". Some reports even claimed that Begin himself was stunned that the film was being censored. In protest at the ministerial decision, IBA employees decided to black out the broadcast for 48 minutes during the night that ''Khirbet Khize'' was to be screened (February 6, 1978) to protest the IBA's decision to allow the government to intervene in television broadcasting. The next week, the Board of the IBA decided to screen the film. It aired on 13 February 1978, and Ram Loevy earned the reputation of an iconoclast who was willing and able to fight a deeply politicized system. This was a turning point in his career, and his later films continued to challenge the established mythology of modern Israel. Loevy then made two documentary films about the theatre and its role in society. It was a theme he had addressed in ''Don't Think Twice'', but these films highlighted the role he believed theatre plays in the political discourse. * ''Playing Devils, Playing Angels'' (
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
) followed a Haifa theatre troupe to the development town of
Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona ( he, קִרְיַת שְׁמוֹנָה, ''lit.'' Town of the Eight) is a city in the Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanese border. The city was named after the eight people, inclu ...
on the tense northern border with
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
. The border town had been the site of a
massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...
of eighteen people (including nine children) in 1974, and had long been the target of Katyusha rocket attacks from across the border. What distinguished this film however, was its depiction of the encounter between volunteers from the relatively affluent cities and what became known as the "Second Israel": impoverished
Mizrahi Jews Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained ...
of Middle Eastern and North African descent. Attitudes toward this underclass would emerge as a major theme in Loevy's work. * ''Nebuchadnezzar in Caesarea'' ( 1980), about a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
''
Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (, short for Nabucodonosor ; en, "Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblical books of 2 Kings, J ...
'' by the
Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the D ...
at the ancient
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
in Caesarea. The opera tells the story of Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed the biblical
Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah ( he, , ''Yəhūdā''; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒁕𒀀𒀀 ''Ya'údâ'' 'ia-ú-da-a-a'' arc, 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 ''Bēyt Dāwīḏ'', " House of David") was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. C ...
. It was performed in a theatre built by the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, who destroyed Judah's successor state, the Hasmonean kingdom of
Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...
, by the successor generation of Nazi Germany, which perpetrated the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
against the Jewish people, successors of Judah and Judea, in their own, newly established homeland. The nationalist
aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...
"
Va, pensiero "" (), also known as the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves", is a chorus from the opera ''Nabucco'' (1842) by Giuseppe Verdi. It recollects the period of Babylonian captivity after the loss of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE. The libretto i ...
!"—a highlight of the opera—had especial significance for the audience. The line ''O mia patria, si bella e perduta'' ("O my country, so lovely and so lost"), sung by Jewish exiles, particularly resonated with the audience. In another poignant scene, the opera's German producer apologized to a group of Jewish extras for asking them to play
Babylonians Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. 1 ...
, while
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
performers played persecuted Jews. * ''Indian in the Sun'' (1981) was based on a short story by Israeli journalist and author Adam Baruch, with a script by Dita Guery (with Micha Levtov and Ram Loevy). In ''Playing Devils, Playing Angels'', Loevy examined the relationship between affluent, urban Israelis and the "Second Israel" as a documentarian. In this film, he dramatized the conflicts and similarities between the two groups. The story revolves around Laufer (played by Doron Nesher), an Israeli soldier from the wealthy suburbs of northern Tel Aviv, who is ordered to accompany another soldier, known only as "the Indian (played by Haim Gerafi)", to prison. "The Indian" was a dark-skinned Cochin Jew and a moshavnik (though Gerafi himself was an
Ethiopian Jew The history of the Jews in Ethiopia refers to people in Ethiopia who practice Judaism or have Jewish ancestry. This history goes back millennia. The largest Jewish group in Ethiopia is the Beta Israel, also known as Ethiopian Jews. Offshoots ...
), and the film highlights the patronizing attitude that Laufer has to his charge. Over time, however, and as the driver (played by
Moshe Ivgy Moshe Ivgy ( he, משה איבגי; born 29 November 1953) is an Israeli actor and director. Biography Moshe Ivgy was born in Casablanca, Morocco, to a Moroccan Jewish family. He was married to actress Irit Sheleg. Their daughter Dana Ivgy is ...
) watches, the two realize that they share a common enemy in the Establishment, and Laufer even offers to help the Indian escape. All the while, the driver watches in trepidation as two extremes of the Israeli social spectrum find that they have more in common than they thought, and begin to forge an alliance between them. The film won the Harp of David Award for the best Israeli television production of the year, as well as the Israeli Broadcasting Authority Award. Loevy spent 1983 in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
. He had more than anyone shaped the direction of Israeli television as a medium addressing the country's major social issues, and for this he was awarded a
Nieman Fellowship The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University ...
by
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
. Among the other fellows with whom he studies was
Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcas ...
, winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize. During his year in Harvard, he studied what he called "epic television", and wrote about how a single night of watching
American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...
—(''Family Business'', the news, and ''
The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...
'', plus commercials) could be compared to a three-act
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
by Bertolt Brecht. He bemoaned the idea of a politically neutral medium of television, and concluded "Television was almost never neutral. On the rare occasions when it took a stand, ( McCarthy, the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, Watergate), it helped bring a significant change." Upon returning to Israel, Loevy made a series of four documentary films for Israel TV,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
, and England's
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
: * ''The End of the Bathing Season'' (1983, for Israel TV), about the present, as seen by
archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
of the future. * ''The Buck Stops in Brazil'' (1983, for PBS), about
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
's national debt. * ''Between the River and the Sea'' (1984, Channel 4) about Rafik Halabi, then a Druze television correspondent in Israel. * ''The Million Dollar Scan'' (1985, PBS/Israel TV coproduction), about the Israeli company
Elscint Elscint was an Israeli technology company that developed, manufactured and sold medical imaging solutions, including: Nuclear medicine, computed tomography magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray scanners. Elscint's shares traded on the NASDAQ as w ...
and its magnetic resonance imaging equipment. In 1972 Elscint was the first Israeli company to have an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...
on NASDAQ, but in the 1980s, the company suffered a series of severe financial losses that required a government bailout. At the same time, he was preparing to embark on the project for which he is best known today, a drama about the Second Israel that would shake the country to its core.


''Bread'' (Lehem)

A few years before Loevy left for Harvard, Israel Television commissioned two young scriptwriters, Gilad Evron and Meir Doron, to write a story about the "Second Israel." Loevy had begun to explore this topic in his earlier works such as ''Indian in the Sun'', and when he returned to Israel, he was presented with the first draft of their script. He and the writers spent two years rewriting the script and visiting the
development town Development towns ( he, עיירת פיתוח, ''Ayarat Pitu'ah'') were new settlements built in Israel during the 1950s in order to provide permanent housing for a large influx of Jewish immigrants from Arab countries, Holocaust survivors from E ...
s of
Yeruham Yeruham ( he, יְרוֹחַם, ''Yeroham'') is a town ( local council) in the Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers 38,584 dunams (~38.6 km²), and had a population of in . It is named after the Biblical Jeroham. Un ...
,
Dimona Dimona ( he, דִּימוֹנָה, ar, ديمونا) is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south-east of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. In its population was . The Shi ...
, and
Sderot Sderot ( he, שְׂדֵרוֹת, , lit. ''Boulevards'', ar, سديروت) is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza (the ...
to meet with the local residents whose stories they wanted to tell,Rachel Neeman, "Khirbet Emaliah", in the magazine ''Koteret Rashit'' (Headlines), 1986. and producing sixteen more drafts until the story was finalized. In an interview, Loevy later explained the significance of these encounters to him:
''The gap between rich and poor is enormous in a country that was once the most egalitarian nation in the world. In the youth movements,
Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
was seen as the Jewish way of achieving
social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...
that would encompass the whole world. That ideal has been shattered. Now we have the pretension of being an open and attentive
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
, but in fact, that message only comes from a single direction. The system only responds to those who shout. Those who are silent remain on the outside. The basic human element has disappeared from the system.''
Loevy was determined to tell the story of the silenced masses, and he was determined to do it not by shouting but by silence. At a 2006 retrospective of his work, Loevy was introduced as an artist who "creates a silent scream in a soft but overwhelming voice." The result was his film '' Bread'' (לחם). The film tells the story of a
Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
-like character, Shlomo Elmaliach (played by Rami Danon), who loses his job at his town's local bakery when it is forced to close. Rather than join the other
unemployed Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...
protesters, Elmaliach locks himself in his home and launches a very personal
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
. At first people come to visit him at home, and there's even a rumor that television reporters might show up (quickly dismissed by Elmaliach's friend Zaguri, "They only come when there's a ruckus.") Gradually, even Elmaliach's friends abandon him, and he ends up dragging his family down with him. A son (played by
Moshe Ivgy Moshe Ivgy ( he, משה איבגי; born 29 November 1953) is an Israeli actor and director. Biography Moshe Ivgy was born in Casablanca, Morocco, to a Moroccan Jewish family. He was married to actress Irit Sheleg. Their daughter Dana Ivgy is ...
) seeks radical solutions to poverty, a daughter (played by
Etti Ankri Esther "Etti" Ankri ( he, אתי אנקרי, also spelled "Eti" or "Etty," and "Ankari"; born 1963) is an Israeli singer-songwriter. She is a former ''Female Singer of the Year'' in Israel, and has also performed in the United States, England, an ...
) who escaped to Tel Aviv to study returns home and takes a job on a production line, and Elmaliach's wife (played by Rivka Bechar) takes a job as a seamstress. At the end of the film, the factory is reopened as a result of all the protests, but by then it is too late for Shlomo Elmaliach. When ''Bread'' was aired in 1986, unemployment was skyrocketing in Israel after a period of relative affluence, and even the Israel Broadcasting Authority had just fired all of its contractors.Tzippora Roman, "There's Bread", in ''LaIsha'', 1986. The social impact was of the film was felt throughout the country, with one critic calling it a "punch in the stomach." That year it was awarded the
Prix Italia The Prix Italia is an international Television, Radio-broadcasting and Web award. It was established in 1948 by RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana (in 1948, RAI had the denomination RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane) in Capri and is honoured with the ...
for television fiction. According to the prize's jury:
''Bread is more than the story of a family on the fringes of the Israeli society. It is a commentary on the universal problems of unemployment, pride, stress, and the nature of human life.''
Loevy examined the role of music and film in society in two documentary films: * ''Voice of the Multitude'' (
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
) looked at the role that popular
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
s had played in defining the national soundtrack. * ''In the Seventh Sky'' (
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
), more properly described as a
training film A training film is a form of educational film – a short subject documentary movie, that provides an introduction to a topic. Both narrative documentary and dramatisation styles may be used, sometimes both in the same production. While most ...
, produced for Israel's
Ministry of Education and Culture The Ministry of Education and Culture is a Cabinet position in the governments of several nations. In some nations the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture are separate departments; in others, the Ministry of Education and Culture als ...
, offered a glimpse into how films are created by combining methods, tools, and human emotions to create an illusion of reality. Rather than tackle literature the same way, Loevy chose instead to adapt major literary works to the medium of television. In each of these, the works themselves tackled major issues facing Israeli society. In these cases, Loevy saw himself as a conduit by which he could bring the work of leading Israeli authors and playwrights and the issues they tackled to a broader public. * ''Winter Games'' (
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
) was based on a story by Yitzhak Ben-Ner, adapted to the screen by Dita Guery (together with Meir Doron, Gilad Evron, and Ram Loevy, who had earlier collaborated on ''Bread''). Ostensibly the story of the Jewish underground movement fighting against the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
in Mandatory Palestine as seen from the perspective of a young boy, it is also a classic ''
Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age), in which character change is import ...
'' about a boy transitioning into manhood with all the responsibilities that this entails. At the same time, however, it can also be seen as a
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...
for the State of Israel and its transition from youthful idealism of its founders' generation to the recognition of the stark realities facing a nation in its forties. * ''Crowned'' (
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
) tackles a similar theme, but from the perspective of the founding fathers. The film, based on a play by author Yaakov Shabtai (adapted by Ephraim Sidon and Ram Loevy), is an intense comedy based on the final days of the biblical King David. As his life approaches its end, he faces the most difficult task of his forty-year reign—giving up his crown to the next generation. Or perhaps he might even find a way to keep the crown for himself. The fact that this film was aired when Israel was itself forty years old was not lost on its audience. * ''Butsche'' ( 1992), based on a play by Yosef Bar-Yosef (script by Gilad Evron) tackles the religious divide within Israeli society in much the same way that ''Bread'' tackled the socio-economic divide. It is the story of an
ultra-Orthodox Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
man who returns home to his family in the
Mea Shearim Mea Shearim ( he, מאה שערים, lit., "hundred gates"; contextually, "a hundred fold") is one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem outside of the Old City. It is populated by Haredi Jews, and was built by members of the Old Yish ...
neighborhood of Jerusalem after being expelled by his father twelve years earlier for committing
adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
. A reviewer wrote of the film that "Levy undermines what the secular think they know about the haredim, what haredim perhaps think they know about the secular...." One final film in this period was an original work scripted by Daniella Carmi. ''The Woman Who Stopped Eating'' (
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
) is the story of a troubled scriptwriter who wants to write a feature film about a woman who stops eating. She turns to a film director who is also going through a crisis in his life, and together they begin to weave a story about this imaginary woman. The tension soon erupts, however, because the screenwriter wants to keep her story in the realm of the imaginary, while the director struggles to adopt a more realistic approach to the storyline. In some way, the story reflected the tensions marking Loevy's own career as both a documentarian and a dramatist.


Israel Prize

In 1993, when Loevy was at work on a documentary, he received the news that he had been awarded the Israel Prize for his lifework. It was the most prestigious honor that the Israeli government awards to its citizens, given annually to people from a wide range of fields who have made a significant contribution to
Israeli culture The roots of the culture of Israel developed long before modern Israel's independence in 1948, and traces back to ancient Israel ( 1000 BCE). It reflects Jewish culture, Jewish history in the diaspora, the ideology of the Zionist movement that ...
, the sciences, or the country in general. It was only the second time that the prize was awarded to an individual for his contributions to television (the other was Moti Kirschenbaum), though in 1985, the country's
Arabic-language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
television broadcasts also received the award. According to the jury that awarded the prize,
''"On the one hand, a prominent feature of his work in film is the desire to bring to a wider public of viewers an inner understanding and empathy for the way of life, the outlook on the world, and the motives that govern the actions of those known as "the fringe of society"—the homeless, the inhabitants of development towns, the Arabs, and the ultra-Orthodox.''From the citation explaining why the judges awarded Loevy the Israel Prize.
The newspaper ''
Yediot Ahronot ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...
'' reported that, "Israel Prize Winner Making Film about the Secret Service's 'Torture Chambers.'" Loevy's project, '' The Film that Wasn't'', was a two-part documentary on interrogation methods in Israel, both within the Green Line (Episode 1) and in the Occupied Territories (Episode 2). In 1987, an official commission headed by the former President of the Supreme Court
Moshe Landau Moshe Landau ( he, משה לנדוי) (29 April 1912 – 1 May 2011) was an Israeli judge. He was the fifth President of the Supreme Court of Israel. Biography Landau was born in Danzig, Germany (modern Gdańsk, Poland) to Dr. Isaac Landau and ...
ruled that "moderate physical pressure" might sometimes be necessary as an interrogation tool. What the second episode really investigated was what was being defined as "moderate physical pressure." The two episodes were scheduled to be aired one week apart in October–November 1993. While the first episode aired as planned, Kirschenbaum, then Director-General of the Israel Broadcasting Authority, was reluctant to screen the second episode until all three groups that interrogated prisoners—the
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
, the
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...
, and the
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
—responded to the allegations against them. Both the police and the Shin Bet did, but the IDF refused to respond to the charges of an anonymous young reservist, who claimed on camera to have been involved in the physical and mental abuse of prisoners. Even when it finally agreed to respond, it refused to ensure that the
whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
's anonymity would be protected. The second episode finally aired almost eight months after the first, on 14 June 2004. Some people claimed that Loevy should have been denied the Israel Prize. Others came to his defense, with one critic writing: "The Israeli establishment had no choice but to embrace Loevy and grant him the Israel Prize in 1993, but even this did not succeed in silencing his penetrating voice and lightening his uncompromising perspective on Israeli society." This view was also echoed in the citation of the jury explaining why it selected Loevy:
''"Equally worthy of special mention is his persistent struggle to show themes regarded as 'unacceptable,' though they touch on fundamental truths about Israeli society.... Given this context, his work is marked by boldness and at the same time a great sense of responsibility. Two films that he made 'Barricades'' and ''Khirbet Khize''had their first television screening delayed.... In his struggle to bring these films before the viewer despite the fact that they treated controversial topics—a struggle which more than once led to the impugning of his personal and professional credibility—Loevy proved that he was not merely a maker of documentary films but first and foremost an artist with a point of view which he strives to bring before the viewer for him to grapple with."''
Over the next few years, Loevy was embarked on four major projects. The first of these was ''The Child Dreams'' (
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
), an adaptation of a new play (1993) by noted Israeli playwright
Hanoch Levin Hanoch Levin ( he, חנוך לוין; December 18, 1943 – August 18, 1999) was an Israeli dramatist, theater director, author and poet, best known for his plays. His absurdist style is often compared to the work of Harold Pinter and Samuel Becke ...
. The play itself was a remarkable achievement, inspired originally by the saga of the '' Saint Louis'', but transformed over time into an "operatic" metaphor about death and the loss of faith in messianic redemption that transcends any historical setting. In the words of theater critic Michael Handelzaltz, "It is a moving play, evoking compassion and identification. It is shocking, farcical, warped, grotesque, and amazing." This was followed by Loevy's adaptation of '' Mr. Mani'', a best-selling epic saga by Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua, with a script by longtime collaborator Gilad Evron. The novel is based on five conversations that tell the story of five generations of a Turkish– Greek-Jewish family, but in a larger sense, it is the story of Jewish and Israeli identity over the past two centuries. Originally, Loevy was hesitant about adapting the book for television, and asked the author: "You already have a book. Why do you need a movie?"From a talk delivered by Loevy to a forum on Middle Eastern Culture at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem, 1997, and printed in the magazine ''Cinemateque'', vol. 142, September–October 2006. In the book, five distinct "mono-dialogues", a term Loevy himself used in personal correspondence, are used to tell the story of the family to an assumed listening partner, who is neither seen nor heard. Each of these mono-dialogues is different, and given by different people in different languages or period-appropriate forms of Hebrew. Loevy captured this in the film, creating a new television vocabulary. The "mono-dialogue" technique eliminated the "fourth wall"
taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
of television and film, according to which the audience absolves itself of traditional neutrality and assumes the role of a character in the story. In Loevy's own words, "Television demands text, but the television viewer is used to getting the complete text. Every question has an answer...." In ''Mr. Mani'', the role of respondent is filled by the camera and, by extension, the audience itself. "As soon as the speaker turns to the camera—in other words, to the audience, speaking directly to it in a way that demands an answer, it is as if the speaker stepped out of the screen, almost like in
Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
's ''
The Purple Rose of Cairo ''The Purple Rose of Cairo'' is a 1985 American fantasy romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, and Danny Aiello. Inspired by the films '' Sherlock Jr.'' (1924) and '' Hellzapoppin ( ...
''. The viewer is shaken up. The artificial nature of the situation itself in ''Mr. Mani'' screams its presence.". Like the characters in
Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...
's ''
Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist fiction, absurdist metatheatrical, metatheatric play about th ...
'', the characters cease being the subjects of scrutiny by some external viewer. The external viewer, i.e., the audience, becomes a partner in dialogue with the actors and an active participant in the story. Loevy later said that, "As the person responsible for the artistic aspect of the production, I was eulogized on one hand and derided on the other. Since it was first screened in 1996, ''Mr. Mani'' has won considerable acclaim for the way that it redefined the medium of television by transforming the viewer into an active participant. Mr. Mani was a critical success, and represented Israel at INPUT (the
International Public Television Screening Conference International Public Television Screening Conference (INPUT) is an international public television organization dedicated to television as public service and in the public interest. INPUT is dedicated to promoting access to the most honest, innovat ...
) 1998. In
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
Loevy expanded his scope to tackle a new issue that was rising to the forefront of Israeli consciousness:
environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...
. ''Fourteen Footnotes to a Garbage Mountain'' was a documentary film about the Hiriya, once Israel's national garbage dump, on the outskirts of
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
. To Israelis, however, the Hiriya is more than a dumpsite. It is a physical landmark—a flat-topped mountain (87 m)—towering over the heavily urbanized
coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...
and the Ayalon River. Loevy succeeded in capturing the world of the Hiriya in its final days, as it was transformed from a dump to a
recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
center and national park. He documented life around the site, and the art that sprouted up from its role—once mocked—as a national
compost heap Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
. Loevy's next documentary film, ''Letters in the Wind'' ( 2001), was a tribute to noted Israeli actor
Yossi Banai Yosef "Yossi" Banai ( he, יֹוסֶף "יֹוסִי" בַנָאי; April 13, 1932 – May 11, 2006) was an Israeli performer, singer, actor, and dramatist. Biography Banai was born in Jerusalem during the Mandate era, and grew up in the neighb ...
, one of the country's most noted performers and scion of a well-established theatrical family. Banai was particularly close to Nisim Aloni, whose plays featured prominently in Loevy's early films, and he was also close friends with Yaakov Shabtai (''Crowned'') and Hanoch Levin (''The Child Dreams''), two artists whose work Loevy also adapted for the screen. By making this film about Banai, it was as if Loevy had captured the artistic pulse of an entire generation that had dominated Israeli theater. Banai, however, was also known as a singer, and his interpretations of the ''
chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic so ...
s'' of Jacques Brel and especially
Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and a ...
in Hebrew (translated by
Naomi Shemer Naomi Shemer ( he, נעמי שמר; July 13, 1930 – June 26, 2004) was a leading Israeli musician and songwriter, hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song and poetry." Her song " Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold"), written in 1967, ...
) had endeared him to an even wider public. Banai's music featured prominently in the film, so that the pulse it captured turned into what one reviewer termed "a metronome of Yossi Banai's life."


Three television dramas

Shortly before ''Letters in the Wind'', Loevy directed a miniseries, ''Policeman'' (
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
), based on a script by Galia Oz and Ofer Mashiach. In 1997, Loevy approached Moti Kirschenbaum with plans to direct a miniseries about a murder that took place in a fictional television station, Channel 66. Kirschenbaum approved of the project, but the following year Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
decided to replace Kirschenbaum with Uri Porat. Porat had previously served as Director-General of the Israel Broadcasting Authority from 1984 to 1989, and was Director-General when Loevy produced ''Bread''. Porat, however, was also closely aligned with the rightwing of the Israeli political spectrum, and had even referred to one of Hanoch Levin's anti-militaristic early plays as "theatrash". The problem with Loevy's project, he claimed, was the plot and budgetary constraints.See Ruta Kupfer, "Murder on Channel 66'' in '' Haaretz'', 10 December 2001. Loevy denies that the script for ''Murder in Television House'' ( 2001) was a critique of Israeli public television. He had enlisted Batya Gur, a popular writer of detective fiction, to tell the story of a murder that took place in Channel 66, a fictional commercial television station. Some critics, however, considered the story to be a settling of accounts with Channel 1. The film revolves around several plot axes, one of which is the story of a veteran director who wants to make a film about the story "Ido and Einam" by the Nobel laureate
Shmuel Yosef Agnon Shmuel Yosef Agnon ( he, שמואל יוסף עגנון; July 17, 1888 – February 17, 1970) was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew literature. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon (). In English, his works are published und ...
, but has the project rejected by the petty authorities who manage the station. The director decides to make the film anyway, but his girlfriend, the set designer is soon murdered, initiating a chain of murders at the station. Two factors adding to the complexity of the story is the fact that the murdered woman is also the ex-wife of the director's close friend, the station's senior programming manager, and the Agnon story that he is filming is also a story about a love triangle.See Oshra Schwartz, "Quiet, Murder", in ''Tasrit u-Bimui'' p. 22. When he rejected the film, Porat reportedly said, "People will think that there really are murders taking place here. In fact, the film opens with the line, "All of the events described in this film are fictional—except for one", leading the audience to wonder which one it is. That is not, however, the only reference to real events in Israeli television. The Hebrew name of the film, רצח, מצלמים (''Retzach, metzalmim'', literally, "Murder, we're filming"), is a play on the name of a popular TV show, שקט, מצלמים (''Sheket, metzalmim'', or "Quiet, we're filming"), and among the subplots are a news story about striking workers (a continuation of the story Loevy began in ''Bread'') (other news stories being covered throughout the film include tensions between religious and secular, men and women, the unemployed and the wealthy, Arabs and Jews, and new immigrants—the detective investigating the murders is a
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
immigrant, who once served in the
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
and the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
). What makes the film most shocking, however, is the final discovery that the roots of the murder date back to an incident the Six Day War, when a group of Israeli soldiers massacred 52
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
prisoners at Ras Sudar in the
Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
. Loevy later admitted that this was the one incident in the plot that was not fictional. It was based on an account he had heard from a participant in 1970, while he was serving in the reserves. He went on to report the incident to the military authorities and, in consequence, was removed from his unit. He had long wanted to make a film about the incident, but lacked the evidence to prove conclusively what had happened. Loevy later said:
"''When the Six Day War ended, everyone thought that the 'mother of all wars' was over and we won. I was terrified and thought to myself, 'What would happen to our prisoners there if this story gets out?' Nevertheless, I feel that we must not be silent.... People say that these things happen in wartime and that there is loyalty to the army and loyalty among the troops, which causes these things to disappear beneath the carpet. But I believe that we are betraying our real responsibility, which is to take these skeletons out of the closet, even if we think that the enemy has more skeletons than us. We must not be silent. We are all part of this terrible conspiracy of silence, and it is eating us up inside.''"
When Porat refused to produce the story, Loevy resigned from Channel 1. It was the end of a 31-year relationship. Channel 2 bought the rights to the series and Loevy directed it for them. Nevertheless, Loevy insists, "I had no intention of settling accounts with Channel 1. I love them like family." But the underlying story behind ''Murder in Television House'' had haunted him almost since he began working at Israeli television. It was a story that he needed to tell, and it made no difference where he told it. Since then, Loevy made one more television drama, ''Skin'' ( 2005), written by Shoham Smith, about a former stripper who works in the
Diamond Exchange District The Diamond Exchange District (Hebrew: מִתְחַם הַבּוּרְסָה, ''Mitham HaBursa'', lit. "The Exchange District") is a diamond district and commercial area in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. the district is the hub ...
in
Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and man ...
, gets involved in a murder. Throughout most of the decade, however, his work focused on documentary films.


The 2000s

Over the remainder of the decade, Loevy directed seven documentary films: * '' Close, Closed, Closure'' (also known as ''Gaza, L'enfermement'', 2002) is a chilling account of life in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
, a place that Loevy describes as "a prison with one million inmates."David Kehr, "Opposing Views, Shared Agonies,"
in the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', January 15, 2003. An Israeli-French coproduction, it was one of very few Israeli films screened in the Arab world, airing on SOREAD in
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
and on three separate occasions on
Al Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a fl ...
television in the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
. * ''Genifa, Genifa'' ( 2003) is the story of an Israeli reserve unit that served during the
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...
. * ''May I Hug You'' ( 2004) addresses the issue of homelessness through the story of a theater company that is producing a play about the phenomenon. * ''Sakhnin, My Life'' ( 2006), also an Israeli-French coproduction, is a sports story about the Bnei Sakhnin football club from the Arab town of
Sakhnin Sakhnin ( ar, سخنين; he, סַחְ'נִין or ''Sikhnin'') is an Arab city in Israel's Northern District. It is located in the Lower Galilee, about east of Acre. Sakhnin was declared a city in 1995. In its population was , mostly Musl ...
, the first team from an Arab town to win the State Cup in football, Israel's most popular sport. * ''Enter the Devil Drummer'' ( 2007) is an account of a group of young Israelis that travels to a small village in
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
to learn to play the djembe, and ends up learning more about themselves. * ''Barks'' ( 2007) is, ostensibly, the story of Israel as seen through the eyes of its dogs, though it is more about its owners than the pets themselves. Loevy explained that the inspiration for the film was the dog Dooby that he grew up with as a child, and a scene he once witnessed in an affluent neighborhood in Tel Aviv. It was there that he first encountered a dog with an electric collar, which would deliver a shock every time the animal barked. Though this never appears in the film, the incident eventually made him think about how Israelis are usually so kind to their dogs, even though they can act so cruelly to others. "The film is about Israeli society", he said, "about our racism."Ruta Kupfer, "Where's the Dog Buried?" in '' Haaretz'', 17 May 2007. * In ''The Games They Play'' ( 2009) Loevy returns to the world of sport to document an international student
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
tournament that endeavors to promote peace between nations. In 2007, Loevy also served as producer for the film ''The Woman From The Bubble'' about a young woman who translates
sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...
. It was an emotional project for Ram Loevy, not least because the film's director, Netta Loevy, was his daughter. Loey's first full length film, '' The Dead of Jaffa'', is being written by his longtime collaborator Gilad Evron and produced by director-producer
Eran Riklis Eran Riklis ( he, ערן ריקליס; born October 2, 1954) is an Israeli filmmaker. His films include ''Cup Final'' (1991), '' The Syrian Bride'' (2004), ''Lemon Tree'' (2008) and '' Dancing Arabs'' (also known as ''A Borrowed Identity'') (20 ...
. It is an intimate look at Arab life in the city of Jaffa both in 1947 and today. In an interview, Loevy said: "'I want to make a film for the big screen, but I am also afraid, because television is so human. It has human dimensions. It's there in the living room. Film has a mythical dimension to it. Its characters are distant gods, larger than life."


See also

* List of Israel Prize recipients


References


External links

*
Faculty page at Tel Aviv University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loevy, Ram Living people Israeli film directors Israeli Jews Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli male screenwriters Israel Prize in communication recipients 1940 births