Face, gaze, language: the ethical form in Amos Gitai's cinema, 12.12.21
Transition, Crossing, Border: A series of talks with film director Amos Gitai
First conversation between Amos Gitai and Prof. Hagi Kenaan
Introduction: Amos Gitai
Screening of the film The Book of Amos (2012, 13 minutes)
A sequence shot filmed on a Tel Aviv street. Israeli and Palestinian actors play the prophet Amos and give a modern voice to his ancient admonitions against corruption and social wrongs.
Amos Gitai frequently engages questions of form, not only thematics and narrative. He examines how a potentially subversive point of view can be presented by changing cinematic conventions - for instance, changing the pace of viewing by using sequence shots that include a system of internal contradictions. Gitai also challenges cinematic vision by using the transposition of different tools. These assumptions will be at the center of this meeting.
About the series:
In the Middle East, more than anywhere else, the work of the filmmaker resembles that of the archaeologist. It involves the cautious exposure of layers of life; examination of memories and stories from the past in an attempt to be relevant and to touch upon contemporary human issues. This raises the question: what happens to the cinematic aesthetic when it clashes with the principle of illustration? Does it then become/present a form of cinematic ethics? This question, along with the question of cinema in a constantly changing geopolitical context, will be discussed in the present series. The series is based on Gitai’s films and segments of them will be shown during the encounters.
Participants
Prof. Hagi Kenaan - Tel Aviv University
Amos Gitai - An architect by training, graduate of the Technion and PhD from Berkeley University