Juliette's voyage

VIDEO - After two hours of heavy traffic from Ben Gurion airport, and attempts to avoid the paparazzi, French actress Juliette Binoche arrived at the home of film director Amos Gitai in Tel Aviv. An army photographers and reporters huddled into the designed apartment on the fourth floor and proceeded to click away an impressive number of frames as Binoche filled the room with smiles. If on the screen this charming and fragile actress makes every moment unforgettable, in reality she is all this and more. In an orange and black satin dress, and hair tied back to reveal her Lancôme face, Binoche looked more like a million dollars and less like someone who had just landed after two weeks of exhausting filming with Gitai in France. In the new film, which is an Israel-French-Italian co-production, she will be portraying a French woman who sets out on a journey to find her estranged daughter (Israeli actress Dana Ivgi), who was raised on a kibbutz. The story takes place to the backdrop of the disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the riots in France. "From my point of view this is not a political movie, but rather a humane story that focuses on pain," Binoche told ynet in an interview, "I fell in love with the script from the moment I saw it because of the strong characters and the excellent story. A meeting between a brother and a sister after years of separation, with a secret hiding in the background. It's a type of mythology, a fairy tale, intense and contemporary. The subject is very loaded it's a story about an emotional voyage full of revelations." As to the question whether we have distanced ourselves enough from the great breaking point of the disengagement in order to observe it on the big screen, Gitai says: "These are the raw materials of this place. It's not a place with refined art and paintings by Velasquez. The films I make place humane characters in loaded contexts." Binoche, who has often said she is interested in movies that make a statement, relates to what Gitai says. "I like the way in which he brings principle issues to the surface in his movies," Binoche says and mentions the example of the documentary trilogy "Wadi," which traced the background of the residents of the Roshmiah Wadi in Haifa. "I had no intention of leaving this role to another actress," she adds as she bursts into laughter. He makes me work like a horse Filming in Israel will last 10 days, and Binoche who has already undergone simulation in France, knows that a tough course awaits her. "He makes me work like a horse," she complains and nudges the director amicably. Gitai protests and changes the subject. He talks about a new center he plans to open in the Negev with the assistance of Shimon Peres and other European institutions, which will serve as a meeting point for artists from the Middle East and Europe. "The center will hold workshops with leading actors and members of the film industry," he says while adding, "Jeanne Moreau, Juliette Binoche and Bernardo Bertolucci have agreed to participate." Binoche nods in agreement. Later, when Shimon Peres arrives to announce the new project which also includes the founding of a film school in Dimona, Binoch agrees to his request to come to Israel for the festive opening of the center. When Dana Ivgi, who portrays Binoche's estranged daughter, walks into the room, Gitai rushes to embrace her. "She really likes your pictures," he tells Ivgi who looks excited at all the commotion. The two actresses, it becomes apparent, have still not met. Gitai introduces her to Binoche, "this is your daughter." Binoche who was not expecting the surprise is a little shocked. "You shouldn't have done that Amos," she says and covers her eyes."Why didn't you want to meet Dana Ivgi," I asked her a little later on. "It's an intimate moment, the meeting between us, she's my daughter, it should have been a special moment not in front of the cameras." On Tuesday during the early hours of the morning the production team, which also includes Liron Levo, Michal Yanai and Israel Katorza will leave for the film set in the Negev. So far, the location has been kept secret. "It's a place of meditation, an open experiment and I wouldn't like people from the outside to sum up what's going on there while it's still being formulated. A film is a work in progress."

Juliette's voyage

(VIDEO) French actress Juliette Binoche is in Israel to film Amos Gitai's new movie, in which she portrays a woman who embarks on a journey to find her estranged daughter who was raised on a kibbutz