VOI’s Judy Lash Balint discusses the marriage of religious Jews and movies with Neta Ariel, director of Jerusalem’s Ma’aleh film school.
Ariel explains the creation and evolution of the Ma’aleh School of Television, Film and the Arts, dedicated to bringing together the worlds of Judaism and film. He says Ma’aleh fosters creativity among populations not normally represented in the film industry, pointing proudly to programs like the institution’s successful film production course geared for ultra-Orthodox women. Ma’aleh productions are screened at international film festivals and win prestigious awards, most recently at the 2015 Jerusalem International Film Festival. Many of these movies are based on the lives and experiences of the filmmakers’ personal realities within Israeli society. listen now