section Documentary Film Competition

Blue Box

  • Michal Weits
  • IL/CA/BE
  • 2021
  • 80 Min

With the blue box, a small metal savings box, Jews collected money to buy land from Arabs in Palestine. As a child, great-granddaughter Michal always saw Joseph “Yosef” Weits as a man who created wonderful green forests from the barren soil of Israel. Through the eyes of the politically interested filmmaker however she comes to see him as an architect of the "transfer" of the Arab population after the War of Independence in 1948 in this, a fascinating historical reflection on one of the lesser-known "founding fathers" of the state of Israel.

Joseph Weits, the filmmaker's great-grandfather, is considered a pioneer of the land takeover. As a child, she merely knew him as "Grandfather Weits,"; the man who reforested Israel. In her role as film director however she questions this myth upon coming to the realisation that Joseph Weits also stands for the expulsion of the local Arab population. The result is a profound reflection on the founding myths of the state of Israel, the struggle for independence and the expulsion of the Arab (rural) population. To this end, Michal Weits makes use of archive recordings, as well as interviews with members of her family: In certain discussions, her father and uncles in particular defend “Grandfather Weits” and reproach the ever-critical filmmaker: after all, one cannot see the history of yesteryear through the eyes of today.


15.6. 21.00 Passagekino, followed by a discussion with mit Michal Weits, director
16.6. 17.00 MS Goldberg, followed by a discussion with mit Michal Weits, director
17.6. 21.00 Filmmuseum, followed by a discussion with mit Michal Weits, director



Credits

original title Blue Box

international title Blue Box

german title Blue Box

JFBB section Documentary Film Competition

  • director Michal Weits

country/countries IL/CA/BE

year 2021

duration 80 Min