The Docaviv Negev Documentary Film Festival will take place this December for the fourth time in Yeruham, with additional events in Mitzpe Ramon, Hura, Dimona, and Arad. This year’s program contains an expanded selection of films, more filmmaker sessions and more stage performances.

This year’s festival will feature 27 documentary films, screenings for students, a workshop with the music producer Yarden “Jordi” Peleg, musical performances, theater, Gaga and crafts workshops for kids and more.

The Docaviv Negev Festival focuses on the local communities of Yeruham and the surrounding area. The festival program features content that deals with questions of identity, society, and community.

Docaviv is Tel Aviv’s largest film festival, and the only one in Israel to focus on documentary cinema. In addition to Docaviv Negev, the Docaviv NPO also holds the annual Docaviv Galilee festival in Ma’alot-Tarshiha, as well as dozens of documentary screenings in various culture centers across Israel, in order to reach diverse audiences in the country’s periphery.

Michael Biton, head of Yeruham Regional Council: “The Docaviv festival is part of the vibrant cultural landscape in the Negev and in Yeruham. Moreover, we expand our work in this field every year. We are very excited to open this year’s festival with “The Ancestral Sin”, the harrowing film by Yeruham native David Deri, and with fellow filmmakers from Yeruham and the Negev as part of the wonderful Mirror Project. On a personal note, documentaries are my favorite genre, and I invite everyone in Yeruham and the Negev to come and enjoy this excellent film festival for the whole family.”

Galia Bador, Festival Director: “We are proud to present a particularly rich program of films, events, performances, and moving encounters, dealing mostly with themes of identity and questions about the society in which we live. Yeruham is unique. It’s on the move. It attracts new residents, young families, both religious and secular, returning residents and longtime natives. The festival program is attractive for everyone, and this year, we’ve also added a wide range of stage events for kids, teens, and the whole family: Plays, dance performances, workshops, and live music.”

This year’s festival will open with a screening by The Mirror Project: A Portrait from Yeruham and the Negev, five short films created in a workshop for local filmmakers, currently in its third year. It is a joint project of the Docaviv NPO, the New Fund for Cinema and TV, and the Eastern Negev Municipality Cluster, guided by filmmakers Meital Abuksis and Roman Shumunov.

Festival Highlights:

  • A gala screening of the winner of the Direction and Research awards at Docaviv, “The Ancestral Sin”, a film about Yeruham residents, shown in town for the first time. The screening will be followed by a conversation with director and Yeruham resident, David Deri.
  • The premiere screening of an episode from Ron Kahlili’s new series Hazarfokaim, from Kan, the Israeli broadcasting corporation.
  • A screening of Jane, Bret Morgen’s film about chimpanzee researcher, Jane Goodall. Screening in partnership with National Geographic.
  • Elish’s Notebooks – Golan Rise’s chilling personal film about the diaries left behind by her grandmother, after her death. Screening attended by the director.
  • Wall – Winner of the Docaviv Israeli Competition. Screening with director Moran Ifargan in attendance.
  • Dancer – His self-control, charisma, and deep passion, have made Sergei Polunin the superstar of the European classical dance scene. The film includes riveting dance sequences.
  • The Museum – The new film by celebrated documentarian Ran Tal
  • Workshop for teens with Yarden “Jordi” Peleg – Static & Ben El’s music producer in an exciting session for teens, about the creative process behind Israel’s greatest music hits.
  • Kamila live in concert – One of Israel’s most unique, colorful, charismatic and impressive indie phenomena right now. A powerful combination of folk instruments such as tar and kamancheh, and tribal beats from the world of electro.
  • Kids’ plays by the Be’er Sheba Theater – The Trip to the Cheese Planet by Yoav Barlev and Hanoch Re’im and A Wonderful Story About a Treasure by Hanoch Re’im.
  • The Mirror Project: A Portrait from Yeruham – Five short films created in a local filmmaking workshop.
  • Yeruham Design Terminal – “The True Cost” film screening – About the truth behind the brands we wear. The event will include a vintage clothing sale in blogger Noga Sadan’s old school bus, and more. Screening in partnership with The Sustainable Fashion Forum.
  • Also at the Yeruham Design Terminal: a screening of Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, about urban activist Jane Jacobs. After the screening, we’ll embark on an urban walk between architectural structures representing various planning philosophies, with an emphasis on principles of community. The tour tells the story of Yeruham’s history and urban development, raising questions about public spaces and community, and the significance of having a tight-knit community in town. The tour guide will be Hila Shlomi, Yeruham resident and urban planning graduate student at the Geography department, Ben Gurion University.
  • Kids’ Upcycling Workshop – Come and design your own “Goodnight Lamps”. A workshop where kids play screenwriter and design night-lights with a story, that retell those personal stories every time they’re switched on.

To the full festival program