Sami-Shalom Chetrit, Sapir College’s Dean of the School of Audio and Visual Arts department; and Professor Philippe Bellaiche expected to attend
SFJFF44 is pleased to present Vantage Points: Perspectives From Sapir College, a collection of thoughtfully constructed shorts from the School of Audio & Visual Arts at Sapir Academic College. Situated on the border of Israel and Gaza, the school is rich in its inspiring landscapes, people, stories, and history. The most comprehensive and diverse film school in Israel, Sapir College students are mostly Jewish from the south, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi, as well as Muslims, Druze, and Christians, religious and secular, producing films that reflect a range of perspectives.
Included in the program is the beautifully crafted animation Layla, which confronts expectations and conformity. Out of Play, by Romi Menachem, contends with the growing pains of adolescence and gender. Shira Tama is an observational documentary that turns its lens on the life of illegal settlers in the West Bank while A Train to Cairo looks at the now abandoned train station that once connected Gaza to Egypt. The program is rounded out by Omer Daida’s Herd, a philosophical documentary affectionately highlighted by The New Yorker.
Expected to attend is Sapir College’s Dean of the School of Audio and Visual Arts department, poet, and peace activist Sami Shalom Schetrit, as well as Tenured Professor and Cinematographer Philippe Bellaïche (Advocate, SFJFF 2019). They will participate in an extended discussion following the screening, touching on the breadth of student work, the reality of teaching near the border, as well as the effects of October 7th on the student body, faculty, and future of the school.
Featuring: