Candid look at US Jews' relations with Israel
Director of documentary Eyes Wide Open says she hopes her film will become a springboard for honest and open discussion about ties between American Jewish community and Israel. Film premiers at Jerusalem Cinematheque February 28
Eyes Wide Open, a documentary film that takes a close and candid look at the preconceptions and revelations of American Jews who visit Israel, premiers in Israel at the Jerusalem Cinemateque on Thursday, February 28th, 2008.
Directed by veteran Jerusalem-based filmmaker Paula Weiman-Kelman, written by award-winning journalist Stuart Schoffman, produced by Jonathan Lopatin and distributed by Ruth Diskin Films Eyes Wide Open is expected to spark a new and deeper conversation in the American Jewish community and beyond, about the changing relationship between American Jews and Israel.
Scene from the movies – Taglit Birthright participants visit Western Wall
“In the process of attempting to understand what the real connection to Israel is all about and what American Jews are looking for in this relationship,” says Paula Weiman-Kelman, “I created a film that I hope will become a springboard for honest and open discussions about the emotional and communal ties that bind the American Jewish community to Israel today.”
Deborah Kaufman, founder of the San Francisco Film Festival praises Weiman-Kelman's “up-front and personal approach” as “emotionally moving, thought-provoking, and a much-needed stimulus for further dialogue on this unique, sometimes ambivalent, but always passionate relationship.”
Thursday's screening will be followed by a panel discussion with MK Colette Avital, writer Yossi Klein Halevi, writer Stuart Schoffman, and Eliezer Yaari of the New Israel Fund.
