Connecticut Jewish Ledger

MIDDLETOWN — This spring, Israeli culture will be alive and well in Middletown. Thanks to Dalit Katz and her colleagues at Wesleyan University, students, faculty and the simply curious are invited to the Ring Family Wesleyan Israel Film Festival. The festival, which started Feb.14 and runs six select Tuesday evenings through April 4, features what Katz describes as “six of the most contemporary Israeli films, some of them still playing in theatres.”

Katz, who spent her recent sabbatical viewing many Israeli films and reading about Israeli films, teaches all Hebrew language, literature and culture classes at Wesleyan, and is the cultural coordinator for all Israeli events.

“The festival is really a natural consequence of a trend we developed for several years - of bringing Israeli scholars to the campus, and integrating their visits into our curriculum,” reports Katz. “My goal is to impress students with Hebrew not only as a living language, but also to expose the rich and multi-layered culture behind it.”

The Jewish and Israel Studies program at Wesleyan University offers various courses in Hebrew language and literature, Israeli culture, and Jewish civilization.

Wesleyan also offers a Certificate in Jewish and Israel Studies.

Last year, Wesleyan hosted Israeli writer Etgar Keter, in the fall semester. This spring, Wesleyan welcomes Dr. Miri Talmon-Bohm, an expert in Israeli film, who will teach a course in Israeli cinema.

Each film in the festival is centered on a different aspect of a daily life in Israel.

Following each film, Katz has arranged for various speakers - including the films actors, writers, and film critics, to comment and answer questions.

* “Walk on Water,” scheduled for Feb. 21, deals with a Mossad agent assigned to track down a former Nazi officer - and his unexpected friendship with the Nazi’s grandson. Script writer and co-producer Gal Uchovsky will lead the discussion following the film.

* “Ushpizin,” the popular film still playing at theaters in Israel and in North America, is an unusual collaboration between a secular director, Gidi Dar, and newly Orthodox actor, Shuli Rand and his real-life wife. The film was filmed in the ultra-religious neighborhood of Meah Shearim. “Ushpizin” will be screened on Feb. 28.

* Other films in the series include “The Syrian Bride” (March 7); “Campfire” (March 28); and “Bonjour Mr. Shlomi” (April 4).

Films will be screened at 7:30pm in the new cinema at the Goldsmith Family Cinema. No films will be screened on March 14 or 21 due to spring break.

Admission is free. All films have English subtitles. Contact Dalit Katz at dkatz01@wesleyan.edu for more information.