The Docaviv festival is being held from May 23rd to June 1st in Tel Aviv. With 130 films and nearly 300 screenings scheduled, Docaviv is Israel’s largest festival specifically for documentaries. For its 21st edition, programming is geared particularly towards the dialogue between humans and nature.
The festival, which takes over the Cinematheque and other venues in Tel Aviv, is organized round 10 categories, 5 of them competitive. Among these are the International Competition with 11 films in the running, the National Competition with 15 Israeli films, including 12 premieres, and “Depth of field” — a competition with 9 films pushing the boundaries of documentary.
There are 5 non-competitive categories: Music, Panorama, Arts and Culture, 360VR and Masters. The Masters section gives pride of place to recognized documentary makers, like Jean-Gabriel Périot and Werner Herzog, who will present their latest films.
This year Docaviv’s guest of honour is Kazuo Hara, including a retrospective of his work. Audiences can discover the Japanese master’s first three feature films: Goodbye CP (1972), Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 (1974) and The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987).
Last year, with its programming and many events, the festival attracted 120,000 visitors. According to Galia Bador, the festival’s director, “these numbers reflect people’s need and desire to access a free, bold art, which values diverse and stimulating voices and points of view.”
Sources: https://cineuropa.org/fr/newsdetail/371538/,
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/21-is-a-lucky-number-for-Docaviv-588314
