The Glow

In a film that Elvis Mitchell of the New York Times describes as "atmospheric and ambitious," middle-aged former general Uri (veteran Israeli actor Asi Dayan) and his pretty, young girlfriend Mona (Tinkerbell) leave the bustle of the city to enjoy a quiet weekend visiting Uri's old friends Motti and Bracha. When their cell phones go dead and the radio emits eerie sounds, Uri is annoyed by this glitch in his usual mastery of technology, but Mona senses that something unusual is happening. As unexplained events multiply-including an elusive glowing light-only Mona sees two black-robed men with shaved heads, who may or may not be aliens. She is on a quest for meaning in her life and for a greater understanding of love. Could her reading of Maimonides have anything to do with her unique experience of this day? Cultural conflict surfaces when secular Uri and Motti cross paths with Motti's orthodox Sephardic neighbors. But these differences fall to the wayside when the area comes under a security alert. Uri organizes a patrol group to chase the unseen transgressors, who are assumed to be Arab. No one is caught, but in their pursuit of the elusive glow, the group almost shoots two young Thai men who work for Motti. This magical-realist/sci-fi story offers a tense look at Israeli xenophobia and society, where men move stealthily with guns in the night, and only a young woman steeped in the works of an ancient scholar can hear sounds of the intangible.

Born: Manchester, England, 1941. In Israel since 1957. Filmography includes 40 feature films, documentaries and experimental shorts among them: THE GLOW (ZIMZUM 2002), 85 min., feature, SCREEN OF SMOKE (1999) 50 min, documentary., EVERLASTING JOY (1997) 90 min. drama, LETTERS TO FELICE (1993), 30 min. drama., ETHICS V (1992) 26 min, drama., WAR COPYBOOKS (1987) 180 min, documentary serial, THE PASSION OF DR. WIDER (1983) 30 min. drama, VILLA (1983) 30 min. doc., LEIBOVITZ IN MA’ALOTH (1981) 65 min. doc., PILAR IN A CLOUD OF BLOOD (1980) 60 min. doc, DISPLACED PERSONS (1979) 90 min. doc. , BELFER (1976) 90 min., drama, THE RIDDLE OF THE SINAI MOUNTAIN (1974) 45 min. doc., MOHAMMAD WILL REAP (1975) 50 min.doc, THE SANDBIRD (1970) 50 min. doc., 20th TRANSPORT (1972) 70 min. doc., THE FALL OF MR. FIKUS (1970), 15 min. drama , LOUISE LOUISE! (1969), 15 min. drama. Books: FACE AS BATTLEFIELD, Hakibbutz Hameuhad, Tel Aviv 1990, FILM, LITERATURE, CIVIL WARS OF CULTURE, Agaf Tochniot Limudim, Jer.1998, DE-CODING, INTERPRETATION & SEDUCTION, Sal Tarbut, Tel Aviv, 1998 Awards & Grants 1969 1st Award, Best Israeli Short Film Competition Louise! Louise! 1974 1st Award, Best Israeli Documentary The Riddle of the Sinai Mountain 1976 Production Grant by Israeli Arts Council Belfer 1989 Israeli Art Council Arts Writing Grant 1990 Publishing Grant of Littauer Fund (New York,USA) Face As Battlefield 1991 Production Grant, Tel-Aviv Art & Literature Fund EthicsV 1992 1st Award Israeli Film Institute Film Competition EthicsV Production Grant, Tel-Aviv Art & Literature Fund Letters to Felice 1993 Prize of the Minister of Culture for Filmmaking Achievements Production grant Israeli Quality Film Fund for Everlasting Joy 1st Award (Golden Horse) Larissa Meditteranian Film Festival (Greece) Ethics V 1996 Liper Award, Int. Jerusalem Film Festival, for Everlasting Joy Honorary Mention Int. Jerusalem Film Festival, Mediterranean Film Everlasting Joy Best Screenplay, Israel Academy Award Everlasting Joy 1997 Script-developing Grant, Israel Film Fund Mathias Critics Prize, Best Israeli Film of the Year, Int. Haifa Film Festival, Everlasting Joy 1998 Public Choice, Taipei Int. Film Festival, Taiwan Everlasting Joy 2nd Award Miki Albin Screenplay Competition Zimzum (The Glow) Script-developing Grant, Israel Film Fund Signs from Heaven 2000 Script-developing Grant, Israel Film Fund The Return of Casanova