Jul 15, 2013

"Altneuland" by Sariel Kesraj.

"Altneuland" (The Old and New Land) is the 2012 graduation film by Saliel Kesrashi, director of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Kesrash reinterprets Theodor Herzl's 110-year-old utopian novel "Altneuland" with modern eyes. By using a Surrealist allegory, the film attempts to deal with the collapse of Herzl's dream and emphasizes the absurdity and instability of personal experience in Israeli society.

I met the thoughtful Kesrashi a few months ago at the Anifilm Festival in the Czech Republic, where Altneuland was also in competition at Annecy last month. Kesrashi's strong art direction and cinematic eye for direction and cut have already landed him work in the Israeli animation scene, most recently on Ari Folman's feature film "The Congress."