Archive | 2010 | September

6 clips created by Israeli artists are among the 125 clips chosen. Panel of judges will pick 20 videos to appear in museum exhibition in New York

Among the hundreds of thousands of videos uploaded daily to YouTube, surely a work of art is in there somewhere. That’s the premise behind “YouTube Play: A Biennial of Creative Video.”

“YouTube Play” is the first curated search for videos of a higher brow on the popular Google-owned website.

Some 125 videos were shortlisted for the biennial from more than 23,000 submissions from 91 countries. They’ll play at kiosks in Guggenheim museums in New York; Berlin; Bilbao, Spain, and Venice, Italy, beginning Monday.

A jury including filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and visual artist Takashi Murakami produce a final list of 20 videos that will be presented at the Guggenheim in New York on Oct. 21. The 20 videos selected by the panel judges are to be displayed in a gallery at the Guggenheim Museum in New York from October 22-24.

Among the 125 videos shortlisted are six made by Israeli artists.

Only the United States and England have more videos on the Biennial’s shortlist,

The Israeli videos are embedded below.

Source: Jpost.com

Russia’s prestigious Alexandrinsky Theater to feature Israeli playhouse in coming annual festival in honor of its 20th anniversary

Saint Petersburg’s International Alexandrinsky Theater Festival will host Gesher Theater this year, in honor of the Israeli theater’s 20th anniversary.

Gesher will mount its production of Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer’s “Enemies, a Love Story.”

The prestigious Alexandrinsky Theater Festival traditionally hosts theaters with unique cultural repertoires. Past feature theaters included Rome’s Piccolo Teatro and St.Petersburg’s own Maly Theatre; as well as celebrated theater figures such as German director Thomas Ostermeier and Polish director Khrystian Lupa.

The festival will feature special events dedicated to the Gesher Theater, including panels with director Yevgeny Arye and lead actor Israel ‘Sasha’ Damidov; as well as an exhibition of its posters along the years.

The theater, said Gesher CEO Lena Kreindlin, is very excited: “St. Petersburg is not just a cultural center and one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It has special significance for us.

“Yevgeny Arye was a director with the Maly Theatre in the early 1980s, with plays running for nearly 20 years.”

“Enemies, a Love Story,” which Gesher will perform, is the thirds part of a trilogy created by Arye as homage to Bashevis Singer. It was preceded by “The Slave” and “Shosha” – both of which were hugely successful in the international theater festival circuit.

Gesher will be performing “Enemies, a Love Story” in New York City, Berlin and Beijing next year.

Source: Ynetnews.com

Requests to adopt partner’s baby doubles among same-sex couples, according to data published by Social Affairs Ministry

The Ministry of Social Affair’s adoption overhaul: The numbers of same-sex families who adopted children has doubled during the past year, according to data published Monday by the ministry.

Until recently, same-sex families in Israel were not able to adopt children in the traditional way. Women, who were living with their female partners and gave birth, were considered single parents, while their partners received no special status.

Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog introduced a reform to adoption regulations, which allowed women to officially adopt the children of their partners.

In 2009, 72 female couples took advantage of the new regulation, in contrast with only 30 couples the year before.

“The leading principle of the ministry is the welfare of the child,” Minster Herzog said in reference to the initiative.

The next stage Herzog is planning will also enable male couples to officially adopt the biological child of their partner, born to a surrogate mother in Israel or abroad.

Dan Goldberg, who had twins with his partner Arnon Angel using a surrogate mother in India, was encouraged by the planned reform. “The data shows that the public is becoming more susceptive to same-sex couples,” he said on Sunday, “More couples are daring and giving it a try.”

Although a large increase has been recorded in the number of general requests for adoption, from 466 requests in 2005 to 570 request in the past year, the Social Affairs Ministry noted that it was difficult to find families who are willing to adopt grown children, infants over 2 years of age and babies with special needs.

Social Affairs Ministry Director General Nahum Itzkovitz on Sunday urged families to adopt children with special needs, and noted that “families that show noble spirits and choose to adopt these kids, will receive aid for their required needs.”

Source: Ynetnews.com

(Via Haaretz)

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