Royal Rat Productions

<body> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: 700; font-size: 8pt">Royal Rat Productions</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: 700; font-size: 8pt">Filmmaker Yaniv Berman (Writer, Director, Producer)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: 700; font-size: 8pt">Gad Emile Zeitune (Composer)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: 700"> <a href="http://www.royalrat.com">www.royalrat.com</a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-weight: 700; font-size: 8pt"> <a href="rr_about.html">About</a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Royal Rat Productions is a group of independent filmmakers burning to make films. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Yaniv Berman - writer, director, producer</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Gad Emile Zeitune - composer</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Their movie <b>'Nurit Knows to Act'</b> won the Young Jury Prize and citation from the Jerusalem Film Festival. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana"><b>'My Last Novel'</b>, was broadcast several times on Israeli television and in 2002 Royal Rat indulged in their first film on 16mm, <b> 'Naked Laura'</b>, with which they traveled around the world to several international film festivals.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">2005 brought the Rats’ most ambitious feat yet; <b>'Even Kids Started Small'</b> was their most involved movie to date, but a dream that had to come about. With a dedicated crew they persisted through the hardships, and the film is now an official selection at the <a href="http://www.festival-cannes.fr/">Festival de Cannes</a>.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Currently Royal Rat is in preparation for a feature length documentary titled ‘<b>Greetings Alpha Company’</b>, a movie spanning 4 years on the struggle and inner conflicts the soldiers of the Israeli military reserve face when dealing with the local Palestinian population.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight: 700">About Yaniv Berman</font></p> <p> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Born in 1977, in Haifa, Israel. An avid reader of books and viewer of films, Yaniv has always been compelled by the art of storytelling, in its forms. When in high school, he joined the newly incepted cinema program and started making films. Yaniv was immediately drawn into a world he could never leave.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">As a scriptwriter and film director, Yaniv is constantly working on new ideas and projects. Nowadays he is working on his first feature length documentary, <b>'Greetings</b> <b>Alpha Company'</b>, a movie spanning 4 years on the struggle and inner conflicts the soldiers of the Israeli military reserve face when dealing with the Palestinian population.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Yaniv has an MFA degree from the Film and Television Department at Tel Aviv University, where he is currently working on his Master’s Thesis, concerning the history of exploitation in cinema.</span></p> <p align="justify"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Yaniv currently lives in the city of Herzeliya, Israel, where he is CEO of TimeLine a company which makes corporate and educational movie presentations for marketing and business conferences. He teaches film at Elmanar College in Taybe.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight: 700"> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.timeline.co.il">www.timeline.co.il</a></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <b><font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">About Gad Emile Zeitune</font></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Born in Tel Aviv, Gad Emile Zeitune took his first musical steps in his father’s major recording studio, where he recorded his first tune, met some of Israel’s foremost musicians and gained experience as a recording engineer.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">In high school he majored in filmmaking where he met director Yaniv Berman and with whom he’s been closely collaborating to this day.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">In 2004, Gad produced an absurdist chamber opera, The Ghorbil Songspiel, on a libretto written by Yaniv. The story, based on a short script, is about a comic book artist who turns into a monster of his own creation. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">For the film Even Kids Started Small, Gad flew to Israel to work with Yaniv on coming up with a distinct sound for the movie’s soundtrack. He put together a group of musicians and brought in the kids to repeat after him, “la la la…”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Gad received his Bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Purchase and is a recent graduate of the unique film scoring program at the USC Thornton School of Music. He now resides in Los Angeles where he writes music for TV and film.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight: 700"> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.gademilezeitune.com"> www.gademilezeitune.com</a></font></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight: 700"> <a href="kids/kids_story.html">Even Kids Started Small</a></font></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">It seemed just like any other sunny day at school. The young students showed up on time and sat quietly, waiting for the teachers to start class. </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">But this day was meant to be different. The deafening silence inside the school seemed odd as the headmaster walked down the corridor – she could actually hear the morning birds chirping outside. She could feel this was going to be a strange day.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -1.0in; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">By the end of the first hour it was clear that this was a trap. With no way to understand what’s happening, the teachers discover that the school, which is for them to rule, has become a prison. And the kids – they are no longer students, but a kind of a unified occupation army.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">After the shock of the first hour, they realize that to survive the day, they will have to fight back. Separated from each other and not sure what to do, the grownups, once called teachers, now struggle to free themselves from this horrific nightmare. </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Will they succeed? Will they figure out a way to win back their long lost dignity? </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">This is the story of one special day at school, when the old rules got upside down and new ones were written.</font></p> <p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt" align="justify"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: underline"> Cast</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Tami Spivak - Headmaster </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Gil Vaserman - Math Teacher </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">David Azulay - Gym Instructor </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Neria Lister - Lead Student </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Margalit Stander - Librarian </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Yariv Gotlib - Janitor </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Noa Shadmi - Student </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Tania Hedenfeld - Student </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Itay Bar - Student</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: underline"> Directed By</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Yaniv Berman</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: underline"> Produced By</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Anat Berman, Liron Blumenkranz & Ilana Tsikanovsky</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: underline"> Cinematography By</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Aviv Kosloff</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: underline"> Music By</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Gad Emile Zeitune</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: underline"> Edited By</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">Ziv Karshen</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline">Sound Editor</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Gal Tushiya </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline">Art</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Itay Gidron & Sari Rubin </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline">Make-up Artist</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Luba Kartzyova </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline"> Assistant Producer</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Yaniv Zangi </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline">Casting</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Anat Berman </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline">Lighting</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Lee Klein </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline">Sound</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Gideon Shimony & Shir Knobler </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline">Special Effects</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Bashir Abu Rabi'a & Nany Rosenstein </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline">After Effects</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Alon Benari </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline">Online</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">Sergei Bezrukov</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana"><u>Date of release</u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">February, 2006</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana"><u>Running Time</u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">30 min</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: underline"> Format</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">DVCam</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana; text-decoration: underline"> Film Festivals</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bangkokfilm.org/en/films/film_detail.aspx?id=F0277&searchby=country&searchkey=Israel&searchterm=Israel">Bangkok International Film Festival, Thailand </a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">(February, 2006)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Verdana">• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.festival-cannes.org/index.php?langue=6002">Cannes Film Festival, France</a> (May, 2006)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <div align="center"> <table border="0" id="table7" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bordercolorlight="#000000" bordercolordark="#000000" bgcolor="#000000" width="660"> <tr> <td style="border-style: none; border-width: medium" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <font face="Verdana"> <img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_purple.gif" width="660" height="5"></font></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <font face="Verdana"> <img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_purple.gif" width="5" height="5"><img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_black2.gif" width="650" height="5"><img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_purple.gif" width="5" height="5"></font></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <font face="Verdana"> <img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_purple.gif" width="5" height="75"><img border="0" src="graphics/pagettl_projects.gif" width="325" height="75"><img border="0" src="graphics/movieart_art3.jpg" width="325" height="75"><img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_purple.gif" width="5" height="75"></font></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <font face="Verdana"> <img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_purple.gif" width="5" height="5"><img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_purple.gif" width="5" height="5"></font></p> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center"> <table border="0" width="660" id="table8" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="5" valign="top" align="center" rowspan="5"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <font face="Verdana"> <img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_purple.gif" width="5" height="410"></font></td> <td width="104" valign="top" align="center"> <p align="center" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" dir="ltr">  <p align="center" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" dir="ltr">  </td> <td width="202" valign="top" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify">  </p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="justify"> <span style="font-weight: 700"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt" color="#000000"> Projects</font></span></p> </td> <td width="80" valign="top" align="center"> <p align="center" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" dir="ltr">  </td> <td width="260" valign="top" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </td> <td valign="top" align="center" rowspan="5"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center">  </p> </td> <td width="5" valign="top" align="center" rowspan="5"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <font face="Verdana"> <img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_purple.gif" width="5" height="410"></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="104" valign="top" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><a href="bethlehem/bethlehem_story.html"><img border="0" src="graphics/poster_size1_bethlehem.jpg" width="47" height="70"></a></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </td> <td width="202" valign="top" align="center"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight:700"> <a href="bethlehem/bethlehem_story.html">Greetings Alpha Company</a></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">(in post-production)</font></p></td> <td width="80" valign="top" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><a href="kids/kids_story.html"><font color="#FFFFFF"><img border="0" src="graphics/poster_size1_kids.jpg" width="47" height="70"></font></a></td> <td width="260" valign="top" align="center"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight:700"><a href="kids/kids_story.html"> Even Kids Started Small</a></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">(2006)</font></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="104" valign="top" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><a href="laura/laura_story.html"><img border="0" src="graphics/poster_size1_laura.jpg" width="47" height="70"></a></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> </td> <td width="202" valign="top" align="center"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight:700"><a href="laura/laura_story.html"> Naked Laura </a> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">(2002)</font></td> <td width="80" valign="top" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><a href="novel/novel_story.html"><font color="#FFFFFF"><img border="0" src="graphics/poster_size1_novel.jpg" width="47" height="70"></font></a></td> <td width="260" valign="top" align="center"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">  </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight:700"><a href="novel/novel_story.html"> My Last Novel</a></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">(2001)</font></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="104" valign="top" align="center" height="90"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><a href="espresso/espresso_story.html"><img border="0" src="graphics/poster_size1_espresso.jpg" width="47" height="70"></a></p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </td> <td width="202" valign="top" align="center" height="90"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight:700"> <a href="espresso/espresso_story.html">Midnight Espresso</a></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">(2000)</font></td> <td width="80" valign="top" align="center" height="90"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><a href="nurit/nurit_story.html"><font color="#FFFFFF"><img border="0" src="graphics/poster_size1_nurit.jpg" width="47" height="70"></font></a></td> <td width="260" valign="top" align="center" height="90"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight:700"><a href="nurit/nurit_story.html"> <font color="#B8B3D5">Nurit Knows to Act</font></a></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">(1996)</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="104" valign="top" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><a href="ghorbil/ghorbil_story.html"><img border="0" src="graphics/poster_size1_ghorbil.jpg" width="47" height="70"></a><p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </td> <td width="202" valign="top" align="center"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight:700"> <a href="ghorbil/ghorbil_story.html"><font color="#B8B3D5">The Ghorbil Songspiel</font></a></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 8pt">(2004)</font></td> <td width="80" valign="top" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </td> <td width="260" valign="top" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="center"> <table border="0" id="table9" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bordercolorlight="#000000" bordercolordark="#000000" bgcolor="#000000" width="660"> <tr> <td style="border-style: none; border-width: medium" align="center"> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> <font face="Verdana"> <img border="0" src="graphics/spacer_purple.gif" width="660" height="5"></font></p> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> </p> <p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"> </p> <img src="http://static.jpost.com/images/2002/site/pixel.gif" height="1" width="9"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" id="table10"> <tr> <td> <img src="http://static.jpost.com/images/2002/site/pixel.gif" height="10" width="5"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" id="table13"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" id="table14"> <tr> <td valign="top"><span class="byline">Apr. 26, 2006 0:00</span><br> <b><span class="articleHead"><font size="4">Israeli film on violence goes to Cannes</font></span></b><br> <span class="byline">By <a href="mailto:thalkin@netvision.net.il">TALYA HALKIN</a></span><br clear="all"> <span class="topsubhead">Israeli film goes to Cannes</span><p> <br> <span class="lead">A teacher's severed head drawn on a classroom blackboard, a student methodically emptying the shelves of the school library onto the floor, school phone lines that suddenly go dead - these and other unsettling signs appear early on in filmmaker Yaniv Berman's film "Even Kids Started Small," which goes on to depict the nightmarish takeover of a suburban junior high by the pupils. </p> <p>Next month, the 30-minute film will be screened at the Cannes film festival's Cin fondation competition, together with 14 other international student films. </p> <p>"Even Kids Started Small" was filmed as Berman's graduation project for his M.F.A., which he recently received from Tel Aviv University's department of film and television. The film transpires over the course of one school day, during which the pupils turn the well-kept, middle-class school into an inferno in which every teacher is suddenly in danger. As a clock on the film screen ticks away the hours, the teachers are subjected to gratuitous and shocking violence, which not all of them manage to survive. </p> <p>The film was created as a commentary on the current state of the Israeli education system - in which, according to Berman, violence among students and between students and teachers has reached unprecedented extremes. </p> <p>"The film takes things one step further, and shows what tomorrow's education system might look like," Berman told <i>The Jerusalem Post.</i> </p> <p>In contrast to the accepted conventions of the horror film genre, Berman's fictional film - which was shot on location at a Ra'anana school - is eerily silent and illuminated by a bright, sinister light. During one scene in the film, one of the pupils imprisons the principle in her office and threatens her with a knife. </p> <p>"On the day the movie was about to be screened for the first time, I heard about a real pupil who locked his principal in the school basement," he said. "This is a film which is, by extension, about an entire culture falling apart. Yet after speaking to numerous teachers who told me about their real-life teaching experiences, I felt like my film actually wasn't shocking enough." On one level, according to Berman, his film was intended as a wake-up call to the education system. </p> <p>"The system's lack of determination endows kids and their parents with a tremendous amount of power," he said. "Yet this is a very radical film, which really leaves no place for hope. It talks about the need for such an extreme overhaul of the system that, chances are, will never take place." While working on "Even Kids Started Small," Berman also worked on a documentary about Israeli soldiers serving in the West Bank. </p> <p>"To a certain extent," he said, "the school film is also about a kind of occupation, in which the occupiers wield violent force and treat an entire population in an irresponsible manner." In contrast to some viewers, who laughed at certain absurd moments during the film, Berman said none of the teachers he showed it to found it funny. </p> <p>"They were very frightened by it," he said, "especially those who have experienced a lot of violence from their students." Berman also said he believed it was important for the country's education system to become aware of his film. </p> <p>"I made it in order to give them the strength to take steps that must be taken to curb the violence," he said. </p> <p>The name of Berman's film is a variation of a film made in the 1970s by German director Werner Herzog's "Even Dwarfs Started Small," in which a group of dwarfs takes over the institution they live in.</p> <p>"Herzog's movie talks about innocence that is lost within a destructive system," he said. "I wanted to do something similar in terms of showing how quickly moral values can deteriorate."</span></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </body>