119 Bullets + 3

A mere eighteen months of insanity and shock stood between Baruch Goldstein's 1994 massacre of 39 praying Moslems in Hebron (119 bullets fired) and Yigal Amir's assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (three bullets fired) last fall. In the wake of these tragedies, it became clear that these appalling acts of terrorism stemmed from right wing ideology and rhetoric of religious groups and their rabbis who violently oppose the peace process. 119 BULLETS + 3 is a piercing examination of right-wing Jewish extremists and the great ideological divide that separates them from the rest of Israeli society. The film questions whether Israel will be torn apart by those who seek to create a country governed by the law of the Bible. Director Yeud Levanon gained access to the homes and meeting places of key right-wing extremists and his film provides frightening insight into these his subject's minds. In the process, he explores the disturbing gap between religious and secular Jews in Israel today.

Yeud Levanon served as military correspondent in the Israeli Defense Forces Radio Network "Galei Tzahal" from 1970-1974. In 1975 he was United States correspondent for Israeli daily newspaper Yediot Achoronot as well as "Galei Tzahal." Until the mid 1980's he acted as senior news editor at Yediot Achoronot. In 1976 he directed his first feature film "THE HONEY CONNECTION," film still below, that predicted the rise of a militant Jewish underground movement. It was awarded "Best Film" award in Israel and screened in numerous international festivals. "OFF THE AIR," his next feature which he directed in 1980, focused on life inside an army radio station. The film was chosen "Most Popular Feature" in Israel that year and was released in Germany, Australia, France and Switzerland. In 1993 he directed "THE BOARDING SCHOOL," a coming of age story which was a great commercial success in Israel and was also released in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Australia. Between 1984-1990 Levanon produced ten feature films, among them "DAWN" directed by Miklos Jancso, starring Michael York "THE TESTAMENT" starring Erland Josephson based on Elie Wiesel's novel, and "STREETS OF YESTERDAY" starring Paul McGann and Jon Finch. In 1993 he directed "BLACK BOX" a feature film based on Amos Oz's best-selling novel, about a divorced woman trying to recapture the love of her ex-husband. His latest film "119 BULLETS + THREE," is a documentary about the probability of a civil war in Israel, shot during the months before Prime Minister Rabin's assassination and during the weeks following it. The film has been selected for the International Forum for New Cinema at the Berlin Film Festival '96. It received a Jury Special Mention at FIPA '96 in Biarritz and is an official selection at the Amsterdam International Documentary Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, and Augsburg Days of Independent Films '96. The film was released theatrically in Israel in February '96. It has screened at the Museum of Modem Art in New York in April '96 and broadcast in 1996 on CBC Newsworld - Canada, Spiegel TV - Germany, NRK - Norway and SVT - Sweden. Yeud Levanon is currently a partner with Amit Goren in Home Pictures Ltd., a film and television production company in Tel Aviv. In the past three years he has also been a lecturer at the Tel Aviv University Film School. In 1995 Levanon published his first novel "TWO FRIENDS AND A WOMAN" to critical and commercial acclaim.