Lior Elefant
Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Sociology and Anthropology, Department Member
- Tel Aviv University, Women and Gender Studies, Graduate Studentadd
- Resistance, Israel, Palestine, Women and Gender Studies, Palestinian Studies, Gender Issues and Women Empowerment, and 29 moreFeminism, Cinema, Cinema Studies, Women in Film, Film Industries, Israel Studies, Feminist activism, Media Activism, Social Activism, Conflict Resolution, Intersectionality, International Relations, Intersectionality Theory, Cinema and Television, National Cinemas, Cinematography, Transnational Cinema, Film Studies, Film Theory, Film History, Film and Media Studies, Philosophy of Film, Film, Activism, Art and Activism, Sciology of Art, Women's Art Movement, Sociology of the Arts, and Film Festival Studiesedit
This article deals with Israel's cultural policy and public funding for the arts-a nascent, underdeveloped research field in Israeli scholarship. The article focuses on the plastic arts and film, presenting data about the system of budget... more
This article deals with Israel's cultural policy and public funding for the arts-a nascent, underdeveloped research field in Israeli scholarship. The article focuses on the plastic arts and film, presenting data about the system of budget allocation and the structure of relevant Ministry of Culture and Sports decision-making committees. The discussion takes a gender perspective, focusing on obstacles women artists face in accessibility to public budgets for the arts. These challenges, we argue, are compounded when considering additional and overlapping identity categories. We apply intersectional analysis-a perspective that considers positionality and social background, including gender, class, race, nationality, and religion-and conclude with suggestions for improving public policy for the arts.
Research Interests:
Over the past twenty years, there has been a growing involvement of women in the Israeli film industry. Since the establishment of Israel and up until the year 2000, women directed a mere 7% of screened Israeli narrative features.... more
Over the past twenty years, there has been a growing involvement of women in the Israeli film industry. Since the establishment of Israel and up until the year 2000, women directed a mere 7% of screened Israeli narrative features. However, as shown in this report, over the last two decades this gap has been growing smaller, and the ratio of films directed by women between 2013 and 2018 stands at 21%. With that said, the positive change in the growing numbers of female-directed narrative features is not reflected in some of the film-related professions, and the gender-inequality within the Israeli film industry is still quite large. In recent years, a few reports and research papers have examined the evident gender-inequality in the allocation of budgets as well as in the gender-biased division of labor in the film industry of the Western-world. However, such research regarding the Israeli film industry hasn’t been published to date. This report joins existing research, allowing a comparison between gender related aspects of the Israeli film industry and equivalent industries worldwide.
The interest in examining the role of women rises, amongst other reasons, from the connection between the filmmakers to the types of content we are exposed to on screen (the artwork). The presence and absence of women from key roles in the film industry impact the types of narratives, topics, characters, and points of view presented on screen. The contents and representations we are exposed to have a tremendous significance in building our personal as well as our social identity and in shaping the reality around us; their importance cannot be overstated – especially in a world dominated by screens.
The report is presented in a way which reflects a certain chronology of the development of a cinematic career, beginning with students’ graduation films, through debut narrative features to full-length narrative features.
We will examine women’s presence in key roles when making full-length narrative features and take a closer look at these five key roles – scriptwriting, directing, production, cinematography, and editing. We will also look at publicly funded students’ graduation films; the available resources of public funding granted to women and men filmmakers between 2013-2018 through the analysis of the overall grant applications and grants allocated to filmmakers by Israel’s two major film funds, and their support of full-length narrative features – The Israel Film Fund and The Rabinovich Foundation – Israel Cinema Project. It is important to mention that this report only examines the two funds specified, and not the entire pool of public funding sources.
We will conduct a gender-based analysis of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television Awards – Ophir Awards, and Israeli Documentary Film Competition as a reflection of the local filmmaking industry in terms of cinematic yield, professional recognition, and publicity. Lastly, we will present information regarding women filmmakers from social minority groups as well as recommendations for a gender based analysis and the means by which to strengthen women in the film industry.
With the exception of the students’ graduation films, the Ophir Awards and the Israeli Documentary Film Competition, this report only examines the processes of making full-length narrative features screened across Israeli cinemas. The reason is that the sources this report draws on regarding documentary films are incomplete, mainly due to the fact that documentary films get far less screenings in mainstream cinemas.
The interest in examining the role of women rises, amongst other reasons, from the connection between the filmmakers to the types of content we are exposed to on screen (the artwork). The presence and absence of women from key roles in the film industry impact the types of narratives, topics, characters, and points of view presented on screen. The contents and representations we are exposed to have a tremendous significance in building our personal as well as our social identity and in shaping the reality around us; their importance cannot be overstated – especially in a world dominated by screens.
The report is presented in a way which reflects a certain chronology of the development of a cinematic career, beginning with students’ graduation films, through debut narrative features to full-length narrative features.
We will examine women’s presence in key roles when making full-length narrative features and take a closer look at these five key roles – scriptwriting, directing, production, cinematography, and editing. We will also look at publicly funded students’ graduation films; the available resources of public funding granted to women and men filmmakers between 2013-2018 through the analysis of the overall grant applications and grants allocated to filmmakers by Israel’s two major film funds, and their support of full-length narrative features – The Israel Film Fund and The Rabinovich Foundation – Israel Cinema Project. It is important to mention that this report only examines the two funds specified, and not the entire pool of public funding sources.
We will conduct a gender-based analysis of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television Awards – Ophir Awards, and Israeli Documentary Film Competition as a reflection of the local filmmaking industry in terms of cinematic yield, professional recognition, and publicity. Lastly, we will present information regarding women filmmakers from social minority groups as well as recommendations for a gender based analysis and the means by which to strengthen women in the film industry.
With the exception of the students’ graduation films, the Ophir Awards and the Israeli Documentary Film Competition, this report only examines the processes of making full-length narrative features screened across Israeli cinemas. The reason is that the sources this report draws on regarding documentary films are incomplete, mainly due to the fact that documentary films get far less screenings in mainstream cinemas.
Research Interests:
Hebrew publication. הדו"ח בוחן את תעשיית הקולנוע בישראל ממבט מגדרי, מצטרף למחקרים בינלאומיים רבים העוסקים באי-השוויון המגדרי בתקציבים ובחלוקת העבודה המגדרית ביצירת קולנוע ומאפשר השוואה לתעשיות הקולנוע ברחבי העולם. הדו"ח משקף מעין... more
Hebrew publication.
הדו"ח בוחן את תעשיית הקולנוע בישראל ממבט מגדרי, מצטרף למחקרים בינלאומיים רבים העוסקים באי-השוויון המגדרי בתקציבים ובחלוקת העבודה המגדרית ביצירת קולנוע ומאפשר השוואה לתעשיות הקולנוע ברחבי העולם. הדו"ח משקף מעין כרונולוגיה של התפתחות קריירה קולנועית: החל מתמיכה בסרטי סטודנטים/ות, ועד ההכרה לה זוכים הסרטים - פרסי אופיר ופרסי הפורום הדוקומנטרי בישראל. בנוסף, מתייחס הדו"ח ליוצרות קולנוע מקבוצות מיעוט ומפרט המלצות לחיזוק וקידום נשים בתעשייה.
הדו"ח בוחן את תעשיית הקולנוע בישראל ממבט מגדרי, מצטרף למחקרים בינלאומיים רבים העוסקים באי-השוויון המגדרי בתקציבים ובחלוקת העבודה המגדרית ביצירת קולנוע ומאפשר השוואה לתעשיות הקולנוע ברחבי העולם. הדו"ח משקף מעין כרונולוגיה של התפתחות קריירה קולנועית: החל מתמיכה בסרטי סטודנטים/ות, ועד ההכרה לה זוכים הסרטים - פרסי אופיר ופרסי הפורום הדוקומנטרי בישראל. בנוסף, מתייחס הדו"ח ליוצרות קולנוע מקבוצות מיעוט ומפרט המלצות לחיזוק וקידום נשים בתעשייה.
Research Interests:
English: Feminist activist art has existed in public spaces in European and American contexts since the late 1960s, but became a substantial praxis in Israel only in the late 1990s. This paper examines the characteristics of feminist art... more
English:
Feminist activist art has existed in public spaces in European and American contexts since the late 1960s, but became a substantial praxis in Israel only in the late 1990s. This paper examines the characteristics of feminist art activism in public spaces in Israel and discusses the ways in which feminist artists merge their art with strategies for radical change, raising questions about social issues and the power relations within society. The theoretical framework of the analysis is based on Bourdieu’s field theory, which views art as a field that has reciprocal relations with other fields, and calls for examining the dynamics, structures, and power relations involved. Methodologically, the paper advocates diversity in its presentation of both artists and artistic media. The artworks are diverse not only in genre – photography, installations, theatre, internet series, and films – but also in the choice of location, strategies, and goals.
Although the examples cited are from recent years in Israel, the roots of such feminist-activist art run deep in global terms. Contemporary feminist activist art reflects the progress that has been made since its beginning, but the ongoing need for social change remains evident. Some of the works discussed in this paper have never previously been examined from a scholarly perspective, and their inclusion as activist-feminist art in the public space is itself an act of activism. We argue that mapping and writing this history is a feminist activity. Locating such art in the field of scholarly endeavor will help link scholarship with activism in the arts in Israel.
עברית:
אמנות פמיניסטית אקטיביסטית קיימת ברחבי העולם משנות השישים של המאה העשרים, אולם בישראל התבסס זרם זה מאוחר יחסית, רק בשנות התשעים של אותה המאה. מאמר זה עוסק במאפיינים של אקטיביזם פמיניסטי באמנות בישראל ומראה כיצד היוצרות מציגות יצירות אמנות המציפות שאלות אודות מצבה של החברה ומשלבות בהן אסטרטגיות למען שינוי רדיקלי של החברה. מאמר זה שואב את מסגרתו התאורטית מתיאוריות של פמיניזם באמנויות ומתאוריית השדות של בורדייה, הרואה באמנות שדה עצמאי אך כזה המושפע ומשפיע על שדות אחרים בעולם והדורשת לבחון את המנגנונים, התהליכים, ויחסי הכוחות הקיימים בין המעורבים בשדה. מסגרתו המתודולוגית של המאמר נובעת מתפיסת העולם הדוגלת במגוון (diversity), לא רק בהקשר לזהות היוצרות, אלא גם מבחינת מגוון היצירות הנבחנות. משום כך מאמר זה יעסוק ביצירות מסוגים שונים בהן צילום, מיצבים, תאטרון, סדרות רשת וקולנוע. היצירות הנדונות במאמר שונות לא רק מבחינת הסוגות, אלא גם ביחס למיקומן במרחב ובשיטות הפעולה ובמטרות שלהן. עם זאת אנחנו מזהות שלכל היצירות יש מכנה משותף מובהק: איתגור גבולות הפעולה האמנותית במרחב הציבורי והרצון לבצע שינוי חברתי בעולם הממשי.
Feminist activist art has existed in public spaces in European and American contexts since the late 1960s, but became a substantial praxis in Israel only in the late 1990s. This paper examines the characteristics of feminist art activism in public spaces in Israel and discusses the ways in which feminist artists merge their art with strategies for radical change, raising questions about social issues and the power relations within society. The theoretical framework of the analysis is based on Bourdieu’s field theory, which views art as a field that has reciprocal relations with other fields, and calls for examining the dynamics, structures, and power relations involved. Methodologically, the paper advocates diversity in its presentation of both artists and artistic media. The artworks are diverse not only in genre – photography, installations, theatre, internet series, and films – but also in the choice of location, strategies, and goals.
Although the examples cited are from recent years in Israel, the roots of such feminist-activist art run deep in global terms. Contemporary feminist activist art reflects the progress that has been made since its beginning, but the ongoing need for social change remains evident. Some of the works discussed in this paper have never previously been examined from a scholarly perspective, and their inclusion as activist-feminist art in the public space is itself an act of activism. We argue that mapping and writing this history is a feminist activity. Locating such art in the field of scholarly endeavor will help link scholarship with activism in the arts in Israel.
עברית:
אמנות פמיניסטית אקטיביסטית קיימת ברחבי העולם משנות השישים של המאה העשרים, אולם בישראל התבסס זרם זה מאוחר יחסית, רק בשנות התשעים של אותה המאה. מאמר זה עוסק במאפיינים של אקטיביזם פמיניסטי באמנות בישראל ומראה כיצד היוצרות מציגות יצירות אמנות המציפות שאלות אודות מצבה של החברה ומשלבות בהן אסטרטגיות למען שינוי רדיקלי של החברה. מאמר זה שואב את מסגרתו התאורטית מתיאוריות של פמיניזם באמנויות ומתאוריית השדות של בורדייה, הרואה באמנות שדה עצמאי אך כזה המושפע ומשפיע על שדות אחרים בעולם והדורשת לבחון את המנגנונים, התהליכים, ויחסי הכוחות הקיימים בין המעורבים בשדה. מסגרתו המתודולוגית של המאמר נובעת מתפיסת העולם הדוגלת במגוון (diversity), לא רק בהקשר לזהות היוצרות, אלא גם מבחינת מגוון היצירות הנבחנות. משום כך מאמר זה יעסוק ביצירות מסוגים שונים בהן צילום, מיצבים, תאטרון, סדרות רשת וקולנוע. היצירות הנדונות במאמר שונות לא רק מבחינת הסוגות, אלא גם ביחס למיקומן במרחב ובשיטות הפעולה ובמטרות שלהן. עם זאת אנחנו מזהות שלכל היצירות יש מכנה משותף מובהק: איתגור גבולות הפעולה האמנותית במרחב הציבורי והרצון לבצע שינוי חברתי בעולם הממשי.
Research Interests:
MA thesis Prepared under the guidance of Professor Hanna Herzog. (Hebrew). The following research explores the experiences of Jewish-Israeli women in a gender-mixed, Israeli-Palestinian dialogue encounter space, looking into the meaning... more
MA thesis Prepared under the guidance of Professor Hanna Herzog. (Hebrew).
The following research explores the experiences of Jewish-Israeli women in a gender-mixed, Israeli-Palestinian dialogue encounter space, looking into the meaning of such a space for the research participants - the processes they undergo, as well as the blocks, oppressions and limitations experienced - whilst also exploring positive aspects such as possible solidarity, points of identification etc.
The Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue Encounters research field is vast and thorough, exploring mostly the nature and the impact of these encounters. However, the gender perspective is generally neglected, women's voices are not represented, and the male perspective is considered universal and looked upon as representative of all genders. The purpose of this research, as well as its primary contribution is to offer a gendered perspective to this field of research, whilst examining the encounter space through the perspective of Jewish-Israeli female participants. The main point I wish to argue in this research is that the gender-mixed, Israeli-Palestinian dialogue encounter space is not only a racialized space but also a gendered one; that the processes participants undergo involve both national and gender-based power relations, affecting female participants in a multitude of ways.
This research is undertaken alongside and with the help of two main research practices and discourses, the first being the Postcolonial Discourse, in its Israeli context. In this research, I will claim that the space created in the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue encounter by both male and female participating in it, is an "in-between-ness" space, transcending geographical boundaries and affecting participants in a multitude of ways. This liminal space is created via interactions between both female and male participants, whilst also shaped by internal gendered and national power relations, which in turn create reciprocal processes that help shape the identities, practices, resistances and experiences of female participants in the dialogue encounter space.
Using the Postcolonial discourse enables and supports a transition from a binary study of private vs. public, towards an inclusive discourse around mutuality, fluidity and hybridity, deconstructing and reconstructing obvious identities and boundaries.
The second axis I base this research on is the Feminist Theory. Not only does this research centers on women, thus joining an extensive field of feminist research exploring women’s experiences as researched by female theorists, but the purpose of this research is to expose the power struggle and gender imbalance inherent in the encounter space. Based on feminist research methodologies, this research is based on nine in-depth interviews of Jewish-Israeli women participants of a dialogue encounter, which took place in in Germany in 2014. My own personal perspective as a participant in such encounters accompanies these interviews.
The research shows that the dialogue encounter space subverts and changes power relations, while these power relations create new forms of suppression, rising from the intersectionality between national power relations and gender power relations.
This research wishes to position the female body as a site of protest and solidarity. The research demonstrates how the female body is used by Jewish-Israeli participants as a mean of solidarity with Palestinian participants of both genders, but also as a site through which national and gendered power relations are expressed, often leading to various types of oppression, that the Jewish-Israeli female participants strives to deconstruct in often surprising ways, sometimes by succumbing to it.
This research begs to emphasize not only the body, but also the emotional paradigm as a central value, thus contribute even further to the research field, which so often lacks the emotional aspect that is so strong and present in charged encounters such as the Israel-Palestinian one. In order to incorporate the emotional aspect, this research is constructed as a journey into every single aspect of the dialogue encounters, from its very beginning right through to the end, and into which the interviewees’ narratives are incorporated, as well as variants such as time and space. It is my hope that all of these will inspire an emotional journey for the reader.
Israeli-Palestinian dialogue encounters are often the only avenue for participants of both nationalities and genders to meet and take personal action towards reconciliation and coexistence in a perpetual war zone. Additionally, these meetings are taking place in a civil context and often serve as a preliminary stage to entering more formal contexts, such as committees, negotiation talks etc.
Through the experiences shared by the interviewees, combined with examining the modes of operation and impacts of the dialogue encounter space on the female Jewish-Israeli participants, this research aims to expose the positive and negative processes these participants undergo, thus contributing not only to the research literature but also to a real-life change, in order to pave the path for more women to take part in similar civil spaces, as well as other formal and non-formal channels, such as civil movements, peace talks, committees and various negotiation talks held in Israel.
The following research explores the experiences of Jewish-Israeli women in a gender-mixed, Israeli-Palestinian dialogue encounter space, looking into the meaning of such a space for the research participants - the processes they undergo, as well as the blocks, oppressions and limitations experienced - whilst also exploring positive aspects such as possible solidarity, points of identification etc.
The Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue Encounters research field is vast and thorough, exploring mostly the nature and the impact of these encounters. However, the gender perspective is generally neglected, women's voices are not represented, and the male perspective is considered universal and looked upon as representative of all genders. The purpose of this research, as well as its primary contribution is to offer a gendered perspective to this field of research, whilst examining the encounter space through the perspective of Jewish-Israeli female participants. The main point I wish to argue in this research is that the gender-mixed, Israeli-Palestinian dialogue encounter space is not only a racialized space but also a gendered one; that the processes participants undergo involve both national and gender-based power relations, affecting female participants in a multitude of ways.
This research is undertaken alongside and with the help of two main research practices and discourses, the first being the Postcolonial Discourse, in its Israeli context. In this research, I will claim that the space created in the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue encounter by both male and female participating in it, is an "in-between-ness" space, transcending geographical boundaries and affecting participants in a multitude of ways. This liminal space is created via interactions between both female and male participants, whilst also shaped by internal gendered and national power relations, which in turn create reciprocal processes that help shape the identities, practices, resistances and experiences of female participants in the dialogue encounter space.
Using the Postcolonial discourse enables and supports a transition from a binary study of private vs. public, towards an inclusive discourse around mutuality, fluidity and hybridity, deconstructing and reconstructing obvious identities and boundaries.
The second axis I base this research on is the Feminist Theory. Not only does this research centers on women, thus joining an extensive field of feminist research exploring women’s experiences as researched by female theorists, but the purpose of this research is to expose the power struggle and gender imbalance inherent in the encounter space. Based on feminist research methodologies, this research is based on nine in-depth interviews of Jewish-Israeli women participants of a dialogue encounter, which took place in in Germany in 2014. My own personal perspective as a participant in such encounters accompanies these interviews.
The research shows that the dialogue encounter space subverts and changes power relations, while these power relations create new forms of suppression, rising from the intersectionality between national power relations and gender power relations.
This research wishes to position the female body as a site of protest and solidarity. The research demonstrates how the female body is used by Jewish-Israeli participants as a mean of solidarity with Palestinian participants of both genders, but also as a site through which national and gendered power relations are expressed, often leading to various types of oppression, that the Jewish-Israeli female participants strives to deconstruct in often surprising ways, sometimes by succumbing to it.
This research begs to emphasize not only the body, but also the emotional paradigm as a central value, thus contribute even further to the research field, which so often lacks the emotional aspect that is so strong and present in charged encounters such as the Israel-Palestinian one. In order to incorporate the emotional aspect, this research is constructed as a journey into every single aspect of the dialogue encounters, from its very beginning right through to the end, and into which the interviewees’ narratives are incorporated, as well as variants such as time and space. It is my hope that all of these will inspire an emotional journey for the reader.
Israeli-Palestinian dialogue encounters are often the only avenue for participants of both nationalities and genders to meet and take personal action towards reconciliation and coexistence in a perpetual war zone. Additionally, these meetings are taking place in a civil context and often serve as a preliminary stage to entering more formal contexts, such as committees, negotiation talks etc.
Through the experiences shared by the interviewees, combined with examining the modes of operation and impacts of the dialogue encounter space on the female Jewish-Israeli participants, this research aims to expose the positive and negative processes these participants undergo, thus contributing not only to the research literature but also to a real-life change, in order to pave the path for more women to take part in similar civil spaces, as well as other formal and non-formal channels, such as civil movements, peace talks, committees and various negotiation talks held in Israel.
Research Interests:
In January 2018, I was invited to the international MLA convention in NY to give a talk about Israeli filmmaking and activism. This short presentation is about the film "Sound of Torture" by Keren Shayo, and how it manifests aspects of... more
In January 2018, I was invited to the international MLA convention in NY to give a talk about Israeli filmmaking and activism. This short presentation is about the film "Sound of Torture" by Keren Shayo, and how it manifests aspects of doco-activism. Of course it is short and much more could be said, but after all, we had 15 minutes.