"Company
Jasmine"
A
Production Diary
By
Yael Katzir
The material presented here is based on the diary I kept during the
production of my first one-hour film "Company Jasmine." This is
the first in-depth
documentary of Women’s Field Officer Training School in the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF). This diary takes us from the moment
in which I
chose the subject of the film through its premiere screening at the
Jerusalem Film Festival.
It provides an inside look at the dilemmas
I faced as
the director from selecting the leading characters’, putting
together the production team, finding financial support, and making
the decision
to replace first the original photographer with my son, director
Dan Katzir, who was also chief producer of the film, and later to
replace
the male editor with a young female editor two weeks before the premiere.
Dr. Yael Katzir is a director and producer of documentary films,
including To Brave a Dream – The Story of the American Colony
in Jaffa. Originally a historian specializing in the Middle Ages,
Katzir is currently
the
director of the community cable television station at Beit Berl College.
She is currently working on her next film: A Personal Documentary
which will reveal through a painful voyage how the city of Berlin
has transformed
Tel Aviv - her home and city from a small city into a metropolis.
March 1997
Creating the Concept
The celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel
are underway, and I am consumed with the desire to make a film that
will be meaningful, positive and thought provoking. I have the urge
to work
on a film deeply rooted in Israeli reality, but whose subject has international
relevance. I am sick and tired of films dealing with existential isolation,
social injustices or alienation. I tell myself that what I truly want
to do is something that I can both identify with and express myself
through, a film about a defining experience, but from an entirely
new viewpoint.
I start moving in a direction that also had an impact on my life: mandatory
military service and women’s officer training. I served as a training
officer at Women’s Training Base 12.
During the 1960s that was the closest women could get to combat duty. Back then we naively thought that the very fact that women served in the IDF was an achievement, and that that itself meant equality. Since that time there have been changes and today women train male combat soldiers on all types of weapons and have operational positions in “hot spots”. These young women are highly skilled and capable. They are cut from the same cloth as leaders, however they don’t realize it yet and that is exactly why a film should be made about them. Officers School for women in the field units is rather new in the IDF, so I thought that by following this training experience I would stir a public discussion on the status of women in Israeli society.
I know that the military is not a particularly politically correct subject with the people who ”sit” on the grants. But I am convinced that a film about women in the military from a female perspective had never been made, and I started to get excited about the concept. In order to reflect on this, I went for a walk along the beach in Tel Aviv. High school kids, days before being inducted were “catching a few rays”. Looking at them, I felt that I wanted to do this film mostly for this age group. I went home and opened a new folder on my computer. One month would be enough to write the preliminary proposal: I gave it the temporary title: To Become a Woman Officer.
April 27, 1997
Securing the Funding
Meeting after meeting, faxes, phone calls. I contacted every fund
imaginable. I met with the Commanding Officer of the IDF Women’s Corps, Brigadier
General Israela Oron. She was enthusiastic: ”Finally women in the
IDF would be presented through the eyes of a woman. Anything that encourages
young women to enter officer training is important in promoting the status
of women… She gives me the go ahead and promises to help.
With
her recommendation, I go to the IDF Spokesperson who assigns
an escort to accompany me throughout my research and production. I
feel like I’m
going back in time. I have a permanent escort from the office of
the IDF Spokesperson and once again, I enter military bases, but
this time
to identify locations to film. I am looking at instead of being watched
by my officers. What a difference, yet I feel very connected. Anxious
and pressured I submitted the proposal.
The Israel Film Service selected 12 out of 80 submissions;
one of them is mine and I’m euphoric. In the meantime, Israeli Channel 1 has
also shown interest. However most of the other funds are sending me letters
that begin with the word “unfortunately”. The Makor Fund
for Independent Films offers me support, not financing.
I now face
a serious dilemma: should I go with the Israeli Film Service that offers
full funding, but demands total control over production, content
and
distribution, or should I go with an organization that will
let me create the film as I envision it, but cannot fund full production?
This time
I decide to be assertive, to ‘fight’ for what I believe
in, and to believe in myself!
I decide to go with the Makor Fund to film the women’s field officer
training course, and then use that material to contact the funds that
already rejected my proposal, but this time I’d ask them for financing
to complete the project. My husband supports me, and I am optimistic
about the risk I’m taking. Maybe I’m being stupid.
December 4, 1997
Putting the Team Together
Today it’s my birthday. I’m 55. My big problem of the day
is how to find a small, dedicated and tough team that will get through
6 months of filming in outlying areas and under field conditions some
of the time. The truth is that I really want a female photographer, but
unfortunately there are only two experienced ones in Israel.
One isn’t
available to start in February, and the other wouldn’t commit
to any project longer than 6 weeks. Deep down, I really wanted my
son, Dan,
as the cinematographer. Dan is an officer in the paratroopers. He
had only finished his service a couple of years earlier. He is very
familiar
with the lingo and experience of the young women I would be following.
But Dan is now on his own journey. His first film as producer,
director and photographer, Out for Love…Be Back Shortly, won great international
acclaim and he’s busy traveling to film festivals around the world.
We are very close, even friends, and I deeply value his professional
and personal opinions, but how could I ask him to commit? I’m
his mother and believe that he must follow his own destiny.
Clearly, this is going to be a complex production effort
and that there will be a lot of red tape with the IDF.
I select
Eitan, an
experienced
photographer and old friend. I like his visual attitude.
He was excited about the project and gave me confidence.
I agreed
to
his terms of
a relatively high price, despite the fact that this is
a low-budget film
that will require many days of shooting.
In the afternoon, accompanied by my IDF escort, I meet
for the first time with the Company Commander of the course,
Lieutenant Rotem.
Right on time, she came out of the armor unit – a large young woman
with a short-barrel M-16, a sharp look in her eyes – nobody’s
going to pull a fast one on her (and she is only 22 years old). I explained
the concept and the importance of the film. I spoke about the problems
that might disrupt the training routine, jealousy between the women,
things that might make them less natural.
Rotem listened
intently and her response was sharp and decisive: It’s important, but I’m
the boss. You’ll coordinate everything with me and the IDF
Spokesperson will be informed. I will not allow the girls to do anything
because of
the film, will not allow anyone to get hurt, and the cadets must
agree to participate. When I left, I thought to myself, what a shame
that I
never had a commanding officer like her.
I think she will help me on my mission, and if I gain
her trust, she’ll
become an ally.
The Filming
Each day of shooting costs approximately $2,000. Each
day must be planned very carefully. Needless to say,
in the
army there
are many unanticipated
events. Prior to every day of filming there is a day
of preparations in the field and innumerable things
that must
be done – coordinating
with the IDF Spokesperson, getting individual security clearances
for the shooting team to enter the bases, renting equipment, checking
that
it functions, returning it and more.
I was very tense prior to filming. Dan got me an international
mobile phone line and we talked all the time. He really
is a wonderful supportive
friend.
The following is a selection from the diary describing
some of the days of filming.
March 1, 1998, First Day of Filming
Finding the “Brave Heroines”
I’m so nervous that I wake up at 4 in the morning. I’ve got
a “blind date” with all of the women beginning the course.
I keep asking myself who the heroines of the film will be: the pretty
ones? The talkative ones? The ones who take an active interest? I want
to find women who will infuse the film with vitality: woman are willing
to take part, who have an interesting story to tell, and who can express
themselves well.
We just get
started and at our first gate on the base Eitan is already arguing
with the sentry. (Eitan enjoys arguing with
the army.) I’m afraid that something will happen to the equipment
and know that we won’t have a second chance – whatever we
don’t get on tape now, we won’t ever get. I managed to calm
him down and also calm the MP. (I did it recalling the famous sentence
my mother used to quote: Be a man, humiliate yourself…”).
The first meeting – our chance to make a first impression on each
other. Company Commander Rotem introduces me and tells them about the
project. She tells them that if they don’t want to be in the
film, they need to say so in advance. I also say a few words, and
it looks
as if I passed the first test. I got 90 minutes for my first meeting
with the cadets, without the commander. I asked each of them three
questions: Why did you decide to enter field officer training? Did
anyone influence
your decision? Are there female/male officers in your family?
Not all the women answered truthfully, and they kept
their distance. Every one is afraid of the others.
I took the
footage to my documentary
workshop class.. It’s hard to say who’ll be the “heroine”.
Several women played prominently – Yafit, the first female Ethiopian
cadet; Tal Nagler, a very funny, but somewhat spoiled young woman; Sivan,
who didn’t make it through pilot training; No’a, whose parents
were in Switzerland and who was on her own in Israel; Efrat, whose father
was a colonel in the army, and Neta Boxer, a real fighter. I’m
not sure with whom I identify more, the commanders or the women. Returning
to Women’s Training Base 12, where I myself was an officer, brings
back a lot of memories and feelings that I was sure I had forgotten.
I’m surprised by the good lunch that was served, but the crew refused
to touch it. I realize that although the army has given us permission
to eat on base, I’ll need to make it up to the crew with food
somewhere else. We stopped to eat in an Arab restaurant in Ramla
on the way home.
March 16, 1998, Week 2
Teambuilding
I woke up to the worst dust storm I can remember.
Surprisingly I’m
jumping with joy. It’s great for the film it will look like Desert
Storm. We waited for the group on the historic street, Burma Road (the
secret road to Jerusalem created in 1948, by the young Israeli military
force) on the way to Jerusalem at 5:30 in the morning. Not surprisingly,
Company Jasmine has arrived a few minutes before us, and Rotem was already
checking on me as well. They are going on a tough march with stretchers
that will be all uphill in a mountainous area. Efrat, the pretty one,
is in command of team 1.
We joined
her. The journey is difficult. Thank God I don’t have to carry field gear, weapons or the camera. Meital
is getting close to a breaking point, but the girls push her all the
way up. On the next march, I’ll get a production car which
will give me and the crew more leeway. Immediately, upon our return
to the
base, Meital, one of the cadets, opts out of the course. She allows
us to photograph her when she goes into a private interview with
Rotem.
Afterwards she signs a waver.
I just can’t identify or empathize with anybody who gives up
so quickly or so easily.
March 22, 1998
Purim
Eitan went on vacation to the Sinai for a few
days. Dan came to Israel and joins me at Training
Base
12 in order
to teach
the cadets
how
to operate my Hi8 camera, so that they could
film themselves when I am
not there. He brought his DV Cam along just
in case, and we interview Yafit,
Sivan, Tal and No’a. They talk about friendships, femininity,
expectations, tensions, pressures and how they cope with all of it.
The Jasmine training course has a very tight
schedule. They’re
only allowed to go to the base Purim party for an hour, from 9:00 to
10:00 PM. (Purim is a Jewish holiday similar to Halloween.) Their morale
is high. I’ve never, ever seen such a hormonal ‘uproar’.
300 female trainers and officers dancing with their weapons and dog tags.
There was so much excitement in the air that nobody seemed to notice that there were no men around. In my days, it was different. Then, having to spend a holiday on base or being in a closed circle of women was considered a real “drag”.
April 4, 1998
During a march around the walls of Jerusalem,
there was a bomb blast. But the cadets, calm
as could
be, use all
their
communication
devices
(including cell phones) to reassure me that
this is a false alarm. I had the impression
that Eitan
was
more
nervous
than the girls.
They are
girls after my own heart. In my time we referred
to ourselves as the girls, today it’s not politically correct, but for me they are “girls” because
they are young.
April 10, 1998
Passover
We continue to film the day-to-day routine
on the base: discussions, lectures,
training, sports,
meals, evening
routines and guard
duty. There’s
a lot of tension in the air. Women are brought up on charges all the
time. Only when they talk to their families in the evening do they allow
themselves to break down. Before going to sleep, they work, prepare lectures
and do homework on the floor or on their beds in the room they share
with 20 other women. Privacy isn’t an integral part of the course.
When they go on leave, some cry because they don’t
get to go home and have to stay to
guard the base.
The funniest of all for me is a Shabbat,
when Jasmine is on duty and the parents
(including those of
the officers) come
to visit
with food
(couscous, gefillte fish, and schnitzels).
In my time parents
didn’t
know where the army bases were, but
today the army allows and even officially
encourages
officially a Parents Visit Day.
Seven weeks have passed and Phase A
is over. The base is in the center
of Israel.
It’s not very comfortable there. It’s
an old base built by the British during
World War II. Now the more professional
elements
of the course will start
May 5, 1998
Getting Down to Business - Production
Crisis
In the heart of the Arava, in the
middle of nowhere, two hours away
from the
closest city
is the Shizafon
Armor
Corps base.
This is where
the
cadets are now. (This is a new base
built according to American standards.)
Conditions
here are
better. There
are only 6
women to a room, and
we were assigned to the guestrooms
on the base. There are air conditioners,
but
temperatures reach over
104º F
(40º C)
in the shade.
We filmed
a gas mask drill where the women
didn’t help each other. The commanders
punished them with a tent drill – an
exercise which forced them to work
together. At the end, they had an internal
discussion
that they
asked us not to film. Eitan got mad
and put down the camera to undermine
me in front of the cadets.
For me, everything is more difficult
at Shizafon. I need to arrange
for food in
the middle
of the desert and somehow
ensure
that
the crew has
time to rest when the course goes
on around the clock. It’s starting
to get to Eitan, and he’s starting to complain out loud. He’s
not willing to shoot at night because he’s already worked many
hours and it goes against union rules. (This is despite the fact that
his salary is global and much higher than union standard.)
Shiri, the
production assistant, films the
evening with me, and I’m fuming.
Because it’s so far away, it’s impossible to come to Shizafon
just for one day, and that’s why we’re here for four days
straight. I talk to Dan on the phone each night. First, he’s in
Miami and then in Europe. I’m
so lucky that I can consult him and
I regain
my self-confidence.
It’s unbearably hot. An APC (armored personnel carrier) course,
a tough drill performed with the armor corps. Once again, Eitan, the
photographer, does not follow my instructions and gets me into an awkward
situation. He shows absolutely no sensitivity to the cadet’s sensitivities.
(He was never a combat soldier and is 45 years old). In this type of
film, the idea isn’t to get a scoop, but to bond on the basis of
trust. A report submitted by the IDF Spokesperson’s
escort about his behavior forces us
to halt filming. He goes off to Mongolia
to shoot
a film he committed to a long time
ago.
I am angry.
I have no idea how I’ll finish the film. Through much effort and
with the help of Commander Rotem, I get approval to continue filming
under the condition that I replace the photographer. For two weeks it’s
only the Hi8 camera that is shooting.
When Eitan returns, I tell him
that he can’t continue as the photographer.
Despite the fact that we’d worked together many times in the past,
now he’s very angry with me.
I, however, am determined to complete
this
project successfully. Sadly, this marks
the end of a long-term
friendship, a high price to pay for
the film.
June 28, 1998
The Last 12 Days of The Course
Dan comes home to help me. At
this point, the army won’t allow
me to bring on anyone who hasn’t been on the crew before. Dan is
an officer and was already at the base with me once before. He is filming
instead of Eitan. I got a Beta camera from Beit Berl College, so now
I have a longer time to film. Dan has been with me for over a week on
Shizafon, and I’m happy. The filming is going very well. There’s
good cooperation with the cadets.
We’re shooting everything that
happens from now until the end of the course. Whatever footage we miss
out on now simply won’t be in the film. I’m totally stressed
out and the crew is exhausted. I decide to change the soundman and camera
assistant every 3 days, but Dan, the PR and I stay throughout.. Luckily,
they’re all young and I brought very good food from home. I wonder
about the secret motor that drives me on, but I know that I’ll
have to sleep later.
The last sports lesson takes
place in the base swimming
pool – feminine
intimacy. Now, not covered up in uniforms
that hide their figures, this is the
first time we see their young, soft
bodies. Suddenly,
we heard
a loud noise and see tanks driving
close to the fence. The tanks slow
down and
stop in order to enjoy the view. The
theater of the
absurd:
Shizafon.
The last day in Shizafon:
The closing inspection with
Sergeant
Major
Sharon. They’ve prepared well for this inspection. They’ve
swept their rooms well including the doorways and their weapons, painted
the cupboards and cleaned anything and everything. The women are very
afraid of him. He’s tough and very strict about cleanliness. Then,
suddenly, in the last room, Tal, out of a mixture of fear and exhaustion,
begins to laugh. Everyone else in the room also breaks into a fit of
laughter until they all start crying. It was embarrassing for all of
them, but they couldn’t
stop laughing.
Sharon asked
Dan to leave the room with
the camera, Then, Sharon
began shouting at the
cadets who
would become officers tomorrow.
He forgot, though, that
he was wearing
a wireless
mike and his voice was
recorded into the camera behind
the closed door. This was
a rare moment which makes
documentaries a true
piece of reality.
In the evening there’s a karaoke party for the women by the pool
with a regiment of armor cadets. Here they really let it all hang loose,
and the women pay no attention to the men at all. When the men strip
down to their underwear and jump into the water, the women simply took
their weapons and left. That would have never happened in my time – the
women wouldn’t have left.
This was the first time I’ve seen that a sense of belonging to a certain group was stronger than the attraction between the sexes. We were not allowed to film the ceremony where they broke down the hierarchy = “Distance” between the commanders and the cadets.
July 2, 1998
Graduation at Latrun
was a very emotional
experience.
My daughter,
Tammy, is
on summer break from
her studies in
Boston and comes
with me. We use
three cameras to film
the event.
When the IDF choir
comes on stage, I know
that it’s the end of the course, but in reality it’s
only the beginning for all of us. The cadets will begin serving as officers
of field units, and I’ll spend the coming months in the studio
editing. We’ll see who is discharged
first.
I’m physically exhausted. I get
home and sleep for almost 72 hours,
eating very little in between.
August 20, 1998
Starting from the Beginning
August is almost over
and I’m depressed. Maybe it’s the anti-climax
or maybe it’s just the heat. I start to pore over the material,
but don’t know how to cope with over 120 hours on video and over
200 cassettes. This is the first time I’m making a film of this
scope. Dan calms me down and suggests that I take some time to study
the material – no need to rush.
First is
logging the material, listing each shoot and describing the footage.
Each 35-minute tape becomes
15 pages. At the
same time, Shiri my PA and I prepare a digitations list of the material – initial selection of the shots that are good
for editing. In the first phase, I want to have a sequence editing, cut
down to about 6 hours. From this I’ll
be able to create a good script for
an hour-long documentary.
I spoke to an editor,
Stephanie, a former
student of mine,
and she’s
excited about the project and the material. We’ll start working
full force after the Jewish high holidays. In the meantime, I’m
going away on vacation with my husband.
On our return, my mother-in-law, to
whom I was very close, passed away.
Now my
husband and I are both
orphans. I need to undergo angioplasty.
I think all the stress at the end of
the course at Shizafon really got to
me.
January 20, 1999
I’m healthy, am revitalized and start an initial editing of the
film. It’s so wonderful to put together scenes that are full of
life and humor. They are small pieces of truth that are very authentic.
I receive a letter from the New Israel Film Fund and from the television
that begin with the word, “unfortunately”. I add them to
the large file I keep of similar letters.
However, the file designated for letters that begin with the words, “we are pleased”, remains thin. It takes me over a week to recover from the disappointment, but my husband gives me strength. I’ll have to wait until March 3rd to get good news – that my treatment was accepted to the pitching as part of the Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival in Tel Aviv.
April 1999 – July 1999
Dan returns from
the US. He
wants to study
at AFI.
(American
Film
Institute)
He comes with
me to the
pitching, and
we succeed.
Nick Frasier of the
BBC and a French-Jewish
producer are
both excited
and promise
to help.
On July I completed
the initial
editing, and
Dan and I managed
to get permission
from the
Army to
do another
3
days of complementary
shooting
at Training
Base
12.
A happy day:
Dan was admitted
to
the AFI.
To the Directing
MFI Program.
At the end
of July,
he’ll be off to Hollywood.
September 4,
2000
The intensity
and intimacy
between
director
and editor
are
extremely
important
in shaping the
film. Tension
can paralyze
one of the
partners.
Directors
make fewer
films
than editors,
and I don’t want an editor
that will try to force their approach on me because they have more experience.
In October 1999, after much deliberating I hire a man and not a woman to edit the film. I hire “E”, a friend of Dan’s. I have a good feeling about it. We edited a great, fast-paced opening. I’m happy. We’re making good progress, I know the material and the editing is going well.
In February
comes the rough cut and then I receive another $5,000 from the Makor
Fund. I also showed the rough
cut to
other people in order to get feedback. I include the women who were
part of the course in the editing process, and they make important
comments.
Commander Rotem comes almost every week, and I’m
very impressed by her insight.
We encounter
some
significant
problems.
I’m still not sure from
which viewpoint the story should be told, and I prepare two scripts.
My dream was for the film to be self-explanatory, but I realize that
it needs a narrator. I don’t know if I should add music and most
importantly, I need a title for the film. I don’t like any of the
ideas we’ve come up with.
On March
14, we
completed
a rough
cut,
62 minutes.
Company
Jasmine
was submitted
for
the Wolgin
Award
Competition
for Israeli
Cinema
at the
Jerusalem
Film
Festival.
June
13, 2000
The editor
calls
to tell
me
that
the second
film
he edited
was
accepted
to
the Jerusalem
Film
Festival.
I can’t believe it. Although everybody told me
that movies about the army aren’t “in”, I know that the film
is excellent. I call the Festival manager to ask her about the fate of my film.
They still haven’t decided on all the films. Two very tense days pass,
and finally the phone rings. It’s Mrs. Lea Van Leer, the Festival and cinemathque
director herself.
She wanted to inform me personally that my film is in the competition and that the film is important. Immediately, I call Dan. Kids can also take pride in their parents. He was very pleased with his mother. Me too. He tells me that he’s made it through his first year and will come to Israel for the final editing during his summer vacation.
June 20, 2000
The Editor
Crisis!
Dan is in
Israel and
joins me
in the editing
room.
He can’t
give us all
of his time,
because he
is committed
to another
film that
was accepted
to the festival
competition.
Three hellish
days. E.
isn’t
willing to
accept any
of Dan’s
ideas. The
room is filled
with negative
energy after
months of
good work.
We’re
not making
any progress.
Time is running
out.
On June 25
E. meets
me to talk.
He
says: it’s Dan or me. On this point
I don’t hesitate at all. E. leaves the
production team. What hurts is that now Dan
has also lost a friend. I have 16 hours to
find a
new editor,
and all
the good ones are busy before the Festival.
July 7, 2000
The New Editor,
The Luck
of the
Desperate
After a
frantic
day and
5 cassettes
traveling
in taxies
to different
editors,
one came
to watch
the last
cassette
at our
house.
I decide
to
hire
her, and
Dan agrees.
They
find common
language.
She is
4-months
pregnant
and doesn’t
usually work more than 10 hours a day. I don’t believe in too much risk
taking, but it seems that I don’t have
choice.
A day ago
I had never
heard
her
name, and
now I put
my work
and dream
of
the past
three years
in
her
hands.
Surprise,
Limor,
the new
editor,
is
excellent.
The film
has been
scheduled
to screen
on Saturday,
July 16th
at
6:00 PM.
Nine days
from now!
The
film still
isn’t fully edited! And the editor isn’t
familiar with all the material! We dive into over 200 tapes. I don’t envy
that kind of intensive study, but she’s
young with fresh eyes, challenged and professional.
She works quickly and thoroughly. She and Dan
communicate
well. My knowledge of the material allows us
to get through it all without wasting
precious time.
I lost
track of
the days
because
I
stopped
sleeping.
The film
is improving,
but
still needs
more
time and
thought – and there is no more.
I write
the lyrics
for
the title
song, “Sister”. The tune is composed
by Nachum Hyman and his daughter, Si, a famous singer sings it. It’s beautiful.
Limor suggests that we incorporate it into the graduation parade. Dan insists
that we need three more shots from Base 12, additional footage. I don’t
believe that I’m doing it but I get the required approvals from the army,
and while the film is already in online, and we are four days away from the premiere,
we are still shooting some background shots….
Needless to say, there are also problems with
the translation into English.
July 14th
is the
opening
of the
Festival.
We’re in the editing room. Other
people are also working on the films they’ve submitted, but we are the
only ones who are still putting it all together. We work around the clock. I
hope it will not affect Limor’s baby.
July 15,
2000
The Weekend
of the
Screening
Insanity.
Dan searches
for
music
for scenes
that
don’t have any. I’m
in the online room. The film is cut down to 54 minutes. It’s more personal.
It’s sharper. We still need to insert the subtitles, the credits, the soundtrack
and a translation which still isn’t finished.
July
16,
2000
The
Day
of
the
Screening – Sunday.
I haven’t been home for over 72 hours. Dan as well.
We
lay
the
soundtrack
on
the
tape
and
on
another
tape
for
backup.
At
1:30
PM
we
finally
have
a
screening
copy.
My
husband
arrives
with “dress-clothes” for
Dan and for me. At 2:30 PM we agreed to check the tape in the screening hall
in Jerusalem. My husband drives. Dan and I fall asleep. I don’t even have
time to be nervous. The projector is distorting the colors. White is now brown.
There is no spare projector, and it’s
now 3:20 PM. They promised us that they would
replace
the projector by 5:00 PM. I am close to blowing
up.
We
go
to
the
Festival
hotel
to
get
ready.
My
husband
put
for
Dan
only
shoes
and
clean
underwear…. At 4:00 PM we are stuck in a terrible traffic jam on
the way to the mall. Dan, who’s generally
utterly thorough, buys a pair of pants, a shirt,
a jacket and socks in 15 minutes.
5:00
PM – we arrive a little late and there is still no back-up projector.
I find the festival director and start shouting. I’m
only reassured when I see that the auditorium
will be filled with invited guests and that
200 tickets
were sold - not counting the 250 invited guests.
My friend and secretary in school, Irit, prepared
the cocktail party for the invited guests and
the
table is outstanding.
The Minister of Culture, senior military officers,
several members of Knesset, all the cadets
who are now officers, in the film and those
currently
participating
in the course all arrive.
6:00
PM – the colors in the projector are a little better. The jury enter.
Nothing more can be done. The screening takes place without a hitch. The audience
laughs and gets emotional at all the right places. I might actually be calming
down… A happy ending. I go up on stage
and give a heartfelt thanks to those who helped
me and put up with me, especially my husband
who supported
me throughout
the project.
Half
of
the
officers
are
about
to
finish
their
service.
They
receive
the
film
warmly
and
that
makes
up
for
the
recent
hellish
weeks.
Representatives
of
foreign
film
festivals
invite
the
film.
My
brother,
a prominent
surgeon
in
a Tel
Aviv
hospital,
and
an
ex
paratrooper
doctor,
admits
that
he
had
to
dry
a couple
of
tears
in
the
dark
watching
the
film.
(This
is
a compliment
I say
to
myself,
but
still
don’t believe
that it is all over.)
I’m wide-awake, though I haven’t slept for days on end. The film
has just been screened, and now I have to regain my strength for the toughest
stage in the production cycle –distribution.
But the journal ends here.
I did
it.
This
marks
the
first
time
that
a crew
led
by
a woman
documented
a training
course
for
female
field
officers.
Forty
days
of
filming
and
100
editing
sessions.
I was
driven
to
make
this
film
for
the
love
of
my
country,
my
belief
in
young
women
and
my
desire
to
document
a very
formative
experience.
I
also
needed
to
show
that
Zionism
still
exists
and
that
there
are
still
young
people
willing
to
take
on
responsibilities
for
the
benefit
of
the
general
public.
My
message
is,
to
quote
from
the
film’s Theme song, “Remember the words of the
old song that mother used to sing: you can do it young sister, you can do it.
Yes you can” – and not only in
Israel.
###
Web
site:
www.company-jasmine.com
E-mail:
katziry@hotmail.com
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