As an ambitious young filmmaker living in New York City, I set out 15 years ago to make a documentary about young Israelis living in the city. I wanted to find out why there so many of them living and wanting to become successful in one of the toughest cities in the world. Being connected to Israel through family and also a close friend, this had been a question for me, and I set out to follow a few professional Israelis in different careers- law, real estate, art, and theatre, and following them was truly an amazing experience. In the winter of 2007-08 and I also had the opportunity to visit Tel Aviv and interview Lior who had moved back there with his family, which also was a great experience.
The project was selected for the fiscal sponsorship program of New York Foundation for the Arts in 2008.
The film is now available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6GqndRYCQ74.
The title of the film: “Where is my home?” is something that also has appealed to my own life, as I rapidly had to pack up and leave the United States and go back to Sweden as a result of the financial crisis in 2009. In addition, I also believe it is a question for many, many people these days when migration is one of the core elements of human life. I am very grateful for the people who shared their experiences with my: Lior and Michal, Misha, Shay and Lisa, and Merav and Adi. תודה רבה to all of you! And Chanukah Tova!
We now have over 30 hours of footage for our documentary "Where is My Home?" where we have been following five bright, ambitious Israeli professionals in New York for almost three years, and we need YOUR help to complete it! Our goal is to have the film completed by the end of this year, and we are now raising funds for the post-production. In order to complete the post-production for this film, we need to raise $50.000.
We are thrilled to have reached this far with this film, and we are so excited to have met these wonderful Israelis who have opened up their hearts and homes to us during the process of us trying to find an answer to the question of where our home is.
Donating money for this project is very easy, you can donate online, and it will only take a few minutes of your time. Since New York Foundation for the Arts is our fiscal sponsor, donating money for this project is not only easy, but also tax-deductible! In order to donate, please go to NYFA's web site, follow the guidelines, and indicate that the money will go to "Where is My Home?". If you pay by check, please make it payable to the New York Foundation for the Arts. Please remember: no gift is too small- donations of any size will help us to move forward with this film!!
We are also offering credits on the film for donations of these sizes:
For donations between 1,000.00 and 4,999.00, you will get special thanks in the credits.
For donations between $5,000.00 and $9,999.00 you will get credit as the Associate Producer.
For $10,000.00 and up you will get credit as the Executive Producer.
Please contact us if you would like to know more about these opportunities.
Let's hope that this coming year will be our best year ever, and that we will finish the fund raising for the film. Good luck to all of our subjects and their families for this coming year!
We are excited to invite you to our upcoming solo show
Blueprint byMerav Ezer & Adi Shniderman
On Wednesday 09/09/09 , 6-8 Pm in PGartventure, Larchmont NY
“Suspended from the ceiling in a range of sizes and
configurations, the white blinds create a floating labyrinth of
walls, rooms, and new spaces within the layout of the gallery floor.
Entrances invite visitors to experience the revised spatial and
physical relationships brought about by this material diagram.”
“The Video Projections suggest various realities that unfold behind
The blinds and point to the relationship between public and private,
Creating an illusion of intimacy in the public space of the gallery.”
For the full press release, please click here.
Hope to see you there
Merav & Adi
Directions
Train from NYC- please take the Metro-North - Hudson Line Tickets $9.75 Peak time
(if you buy in the station ) only 30 min. To see the schedule please click on the link ,and enter Larchmont in the destinations station. From Larchmont station it's 0.7 mils walk (9 blocks) walk on N Chatsworth Ave until you reach Boston Post RD then take a right and walk 1 block (across the street from the police station).
The gallery will be open to the public Wednesdays through Saturdays from Noon to 5 pm and by appointment.
PGartventure gallery is located at 2130A Boston Post Road, Larchmont, NY10538. For more information, please contact Pascale Goldenstein at 914.834.5100 or info@pgartventure.com.
our Misha just cannot stop being successful! Here is an email about his latest play, which will performed in Toronto. Here is the web site for the play.
I would like to take this opportunity to recommend an excellent documentary that was made by undercover video journalists during the protests in Burma during 2007.
This film, Burma VJ, was filmed by the undercover journalists and edited in Denmark. It is a fantastic opportunity to see how regular people with video cameras can help expose violence in countries with oppressive regimes.
Another interesting documentary is this one from our fellow documentary filmmaker Hilla Medalia (who made To Die in Jerusalem): "After the Storm". Check out the trailer here and/or become a fan of it on Facebook!
Dear Friends and colleagues, I'm very excited to invite you to my upcoming first US museum solo show at the Abington Art Center in Philadelphia as part of 'Solo Series', spring 2009 This show will feature my new site specific installation: -blueprint-
The opening is on Saturday February 28, 2009, 2-5pm. There will be a special event by the Israel consulate offering Israeli wine between 6:30-8pm.
Merav Ezer, a subject in our documentary, as well as the co-producer of it, has been selected as a finalist for the Inaugural Exhibition at the Black and White Gallery in Brooklyn.
The opening of the show is on this coming Friday, October 10, between 6pm and 10pm at the Williamsburg site of the gallery. The address is: 483 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11211. This is a chance to see her proposal before the gallery will announce the selected finalist. Hope to see you there!
I am very pleased to announce that “Where is My Home?” has been chosen as one of the documentaries in New York Foundation for the Arts’ fiscal sponsorship program! This foundation has previously included filmmakers such as Kimberly Pierce and Spike Lee in their programs and we are, of course, very happy to have been chosen by NYFA as well.
So what is a fiscal sponsorship? Fiscal sponsorship is a legal means whereby donors can make tax-deductible contributions to individuals or organizations that are themselves not tax exempt; thereby, it is possible to make tax-exempt donations to our project through NYFA,
How do I donate money? In order to donate money to this project- please visit http://www.nyfa.org/level1.asp?id=10 and choose whether you want to donate by credit card or by check. This program accepts donations between $5.00 and $15.000, and we ourselves are happy to accept donations of any size!
Today Merav started her MFA program at Purchase College , in upstate New York . I am very excited for her and which that this experience will help her develop even more as an artist…and again, I am looking forward to keep collaborating with her.
I first met Shay with his wife Lisa on a spring evening in Union Square, not far away from their apartment. Shay is an up-and-coming Real Estate broker in New York, set on making it big in the big city. In 2007, Shay was nominated as a Rising star 2007 by the Real Estate Weekly, and this spring, he was one of the brokers closing a $19 million property sale in Manhattan. Keep up the good job!
Today Merav and I went location scouting for an upcoming video she is planning to shoot this summer. We drove to an industrial area of Brooklyn, which might be a good background when filming. I drove by there recently on a late evening, and came to think about Merav’s upcoming project.
I am very excited to be working with Merav, and am looking forward to upcoming video shoots this summer.
Out latest addition to young, bright, professional Israelis featured in “Where is My Home?” is Merav Ezer, a sculptor and multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn. Merav will also co-produce the film. Nomadic displacement is one of the subjects that Merav has explored through her art, and in 2006, she was a part of the art project “Home Base”, where Brooklyn based artists exploring notions of Home.
Misha Shulman’s most recent play “Brunch at the Luthers (and Other Quacks)” is widely praised by theatre critics! Last chance to see it is this weekend; come out and support Misha and his actors!
“mad, funny, preposterous… Priscilla Flores’ dance is enough to send one rushing out of the theater for fear of one’s life!” (Jewish Post and Opinion) “Scarily Bizarre,” (Village Voice) and “Simultaneously smart and funny…This play is so much fun!” (nytheatre.com)
Misha Shulman, who is one of the Israelis featured in “Where is My Home?”, will have his most recent play: "Brunch at the Luthers” premiered this coming Thursday at Theater for the New City.
Israeli war veteran Misha Shulman is an award winning New York based playwright and director and currently a MFA student at Brooklyn College. In 2006, his play “Desert Sunrise” premiered at Theater for the New City and reviewed astonishing reviews. Please come out and show your support for one of Israel’s most promising young playwrights!
In this documentary five ambitious Israelis living in New York City open up their hearts and talk about how they feel on being far away from home.
When we started this documentary, we were searching for the answer to the question: Who is the typical Israeli in New York City? We came up with five different answers.
Inspiring, talented and hard working are all words that describe all of the people interviewed for this film. They are all different except for one thing: they all share a love for their home country.
"Where Is My Home?" is in New York Foundation for the Art's fiscal sponsorship program: http://www.nyfa.org/files_uploaded/PR-9.29.08-FS.pdf.
