Helping International Filmmakers to Succeed Worldwide
1991 - a pivotal year that started with Iraqi missile attacks on Israel and ended with the consequential Madrid Peace Conference. 1991 was also the last year that Yitzhak Shamir served as the Prime Minister of Israel. This film intertwines exclusive and behind-the-scenes' insights illustrating the unique path between the terror of war and the hopes of peace. It dramatically unfolds Shamir's unprecedented and controversial decision not to retaliate to Iraq's missile attack in spite of international pressure from world leaders such as President George H. W. Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachev. The film reveals for the first time the extraordinary life of a groundbreaking leader whose impact has been felt throughout the entire Middle East region for decades. Prominent figures have attended the film's Israeli premiere, such as the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, prior to its broadcast on Channel 8, one of Israel's leading documentary channels. This is a new film and we have begun sending it to international film festivals and broadcasters.
Learn MoreThe last survivors of the Greek Jewish community who endured the Auschwitz extermination camp look straight into the camera, simply & candidly, to reveal their previously unknown story of survival & heroism during the Holocaust
Learn MoreA bereaved father embarks on an uncompromising quest to achieve justice for his murdered daughter in the face of her killer’s impending release from prison.
Learn MoreYael is driving back home when she is suddenly hit by a Palestinian car. The Palestinians trick her and steal her car! Much to their surprise, the thieves discover a baby in the back seat! Yael is desperate and anxious to save her baby. She stops Roy's car and convinces him to help her search for her baby in the hostile Arab village nearby. They both take drastic measures and risk their own lives to save her baby. Based on a true story.
Learn MoreHarel, the two-year-old son of Michal & Uri, was born prematurely with a brain defect, which makes him suffer and require frequent medical assistance to alleviate his pain. The doctors are already doing their best to help him – but he still suffers. Michal & Uri question themselves daily - is it fair that Harel has to continuously suffer so much? Should they stop his treatments and allow him to die to stop his agony?
Learn MoreRabbi Chen tries to maintain a school routine for the sake of his students, despite the political conflict with the local authority. Will he be able to carry out the graduation party as he promised to his beloved students and against all odds?
Learn MoreThe film delicately intertwines three stories about choice, conscience, and Karma (the Hindu, and Jewish, notion that actions shape our destiny). Each character is unique and comes from a different cultural background but Karma links them together.
Learn MoreAn inspiring & spiritual journey throughout Israel revealing for the first time Kabbalah secrets, profound insights and the fascinating story of the Rabbi Admor of Sitre Haim
Learn MoreThe film reveals the driving spirit which compels people with no financial means or political standing to make history
Learn MoreA contemporary, relevant & universal teen drama which faithfully describes the world of teenagers today
Learn MoreFour Israeli kids embark on a courageous journey to rescue the lives of two injured teenagers. The Israeli STAND BY ME
Learn MoreA homosexual love story set in the Ultra Ortodox Jewish community in Jerusalem.
Learn MoreSaving The Samaritans
The Samaritans: Saving a Biblical People spans the globe— from Israel, the Palestinian Authority and United States to Ukraine and Brazil, in an effort to save the 3,400-year-old Samaritan community. Time is of the essence. The Samaritans today number only 850 people. Centuries persecution, a shortage of female marriage partners and genetic defects caused by inbreeding, together with the pressures of the modern world put their future in peril. The Samaritans will do whatever it takes – and sometimes more – to save their ancient tradition from extinction. This documentary presents the Samaritan’s desperate efforts to save themselves and their ancient culture for future generations.
The Samaritans are best known for “the Good Samaritan” of New Testament fame. Many people mistake them for Jews, but they are not. They are descendants of the ancient northern tribes of Israel. While most of their brethren are long “lost,” this small remnant carries on. For 3,600 years, the traditions of this biblical people have developed side by side with Judaism, and then Christianity and Islam.
The Samaritan holy mountain is holy Mt.Gerizim, near biblical Shechem, modern Nablus. They claim to preserve the most ancient and complete Torah scroll in the world, written at the time of Moses himself in ancient biblical Hebrew script.
The Samaritans: Saving A Biblical People is a window into the world of this ancient yet modern people, its religion, culture, rituals and beliefs. It will intimately reveal Samaritan rituals of the Day of Atonement and the Pascal sacrifice on Mt. Gerizim, which has continued from antiquity to the present. It will search the world for their treasured manuscripts and reveal priceless ritual objects seldom seen.
This ancient people has experienced trials and tribulations throughout their long history. While in the first century there were perhaps a million Samaritans, the community numbered only 141 souls at the dawn of the 20th century. Thanks to the support of dedicated American Protestant friends and especially of the Zionist movement led by Yitzhak Ben Zvi, the second president of Israel, their number has steadily grown to over 850 today.
The Samaritans are dramatically caught between their commitment to preserve their ancient traditions and the rapidly changing world around them. On the most personal and intimate level, Samaritan men, unable for demographic reasons find Samaritan brides, struggle to marry. This crisis has caused many to seek non-Samaritan wives from Eastern Europe, the first nonIsraelites ever to be brought into the Samaritan community, The trials of a single couple will be documented from their initial courtship in the Ukraine to marriage and the complexities of live as a mixed-Samaritan family.
The Samaritans are torn between modern nations and rivalries. Half reside in the Israeli city of Holon and are completely Israeli. Those who reside on Mount Gerizim, above Nablus in the West Bank, are citizens of the Palestinian Authority. Precariously, this split community exists at the cusp of the Israeli-Palestine crisis, navigating carefully between the warring sides.
In a sense, the Samaritan struggle is a metaphor for the ways that all traditional cultures are impacted by modernity, but with a level of immediacy and constant crisis that allows for few errors.
The Samaritans: Saving A Biblical People will present the lives of several key individuals within the Samaritan community, exploring the deeply religious and spiritual world of this ancient yet endangered biblical people.
Academic and Cinematic Support
A renowned international academic has been assembled that will ensure the academic quality of this article documentary. Members are Professor Steven Fine (Yeshiva University, chair), Prof. Galit Hasan-Rokem (Hebrew University). Prof. Menachem Mor (Haifa University) and Prof. Avigdor Shinan (Hebrew University). The committee unanimously approved both the choice of Alafi as the filmmaker and the plans for this film. This documentary is the centerpiece of the Yeshiva University Israelite Samaritan Project (yu.edu/cis) and is involved at every state of production.
The New Fund for Cinema and Television (http://nfct.org.il/en/) is a leading Israeli film fund, established over two decades ago, dedicated to supporting and promoting Israeli cinema, with a special focus on documentary films.
Production Stage
Research and initial conversations with our academic committee have been concluded. The main characters for the film have been located and have consented to be filmed. Filming began October 2018 in Ukraine, Holon and Mt. Gerizim, and continued during November 2018 in New York and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Estimated Length: 60 minutes
Committed Funding Partners
Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies, New York and Jerusalem The New Fund for Cinema & Television, Israel
Total Secured Funding: 100,000 USD
Required Funding: 80,000 USD
Director & Producer
Moshe Alafi, the director and producer, has produced numerous documentaries, TV programs and web-series. He focuses on religious, current affairs, political and historical topics.
An inspiring, scientifically accurate & international adventure blockbuster incorporating cutting-edge space research, sustainable science, technology, philosophy, spirituality and Kabbalah.
The film begins in Jerusalem where Isaac Newton’s secret manuscripts are newly revealed and spreads to the space superpower nations as they face the threat of an approaching apocalyptic and unusual asteroid.
In the style of THE DA VINCI CODE, DEEP IMPACT, GRAVITY & THE MARTIAN
Created by Arie Yeger. All Rights Reserved
WGA Registration Number: 1989556