Category: Culture/Tradition
Aleph documentary in official selection at 2017 Respect Belfast Human Rights Film Festival
Aleph Melbourne is very proud that our documentary “Aleph Melbourne – Celebrating 20 Years” is amongst the official selection at the 2017 Respect Belfast Human Rights Film Festival.
The screening is listed on page 65 of the festival program.
Aleph Melbourne presents documentary DVD to Glen Eira Council
Australian Jewish News, October 28 2016
Follow the progress of our documentary on Facebook: Aleph 20 Project
Aleph Documentary – Press Kit
Title: Aleph Melbourne – Celebrating 20 Years
Duration: 9:54 (full specs below)
Date of completion: 26 July 2016
Place of production: Melbourne, Australia
Facebook: aleph20project
Logline
The amazing story of the group that changed the face of LGBTIQ acceptance in Jewish Australia.
Synopsis (25 words)
The amazing story of Aleph Melbourne, the support group that changed the face of LGBTIQ acceptance in Jewish Australia, from inception in 1995 to 2015.
Synopsis (37 words)
The amazing story of Aleph Melbourne, the controversial support group that changed the face of LGBTIQ acceptance in Jewish Australia. Rich with archival material, take a captivating and nostalgic journey from inception in 1995 through to 2015.
Synopsis (long)
Aleph Melbourne was founded in 1995 as a social and support group for gay Jewish men. Over the next 20 years this tiny organisation would have a huge impact on the Jewish community in Victoria.
Come on a roller-coaster ride and look back on the achievements and set-backs faced by this amazing group that has transformed the level of acceptance of LGBTIQ people in one of Australia’s biggest Jewish communities.
Includes interviews with key members and friends of the group, radio and TV interviews, and a fascinating collection of media and other nostalgic items.
The story is beautifully woven together with the music of Melbourne Klezmer band Klezmania.
A unique view of one of Australia’s most interesting and diverse communities.
Director Biography
Michael Barnett was born in Melbourne in 1969 to English-speaking immigrant parents of Eastern European Jewish tradition. He attended a combination of government and Jewish day schools, attended an orthodox synagogue with his family in Doncaster and was a member of the Jewish scout troop.
At the age of 26 he broke open the closet doors and accepted himself as a gay man, embarking on a journey that would set him up to be a controversial activist. Combining his skills as a photographer, radio announcer, blogger and computer geek he propelled himself head-first into fighting for equal rights for LGBTIQ people, combating youth suicide and challenging religious oppression and influence in government.
He also found himself heading up a social, support and advocacy group for queer Jews in Melbourne. He did this to raise awareness of the marginalisation and vilification he and others faced from within the Jewish community, along with wanting to provide a safe space and a voice for this sub-community.
Director Statement
Aleph Melbourne turned 20 in 2015 and it felt appropriate to commemorate this milestone by making a documentary. Having played a pivotal role in much of the group’s history, together with having amassed a huge archive of material about the group I was well placed to coordinate such a project.
Funding a documentary was going to be the first hurdle to cross. We received a small community grant which kicked things off and additional funds were raised through crowd-funding. With finances in the bank I met with YouthWorx Productions, who were very happy to help tell our story.
I had a mammoth job ahead of me, as my archives were all in the one place but not very organised. I meticulously sifted through 20 years of newspaper clippings, photographs, radio and TV interviews and a variety of other miscellaneous items.
Working closely with the production team, we came up with a broad storyline. The frustrating part for me was working out what to include in the short amount of time available to us. We had enough material to fill at least an hour, so it was going to be a case of picking the absolute highlights and being extremely judicious.
It’s not often I was grateful to be unemployed, but this project might not have come to fruition if I hadn’t had the spare time available to commit to it due to having been out work for several months on end. I made the most of this time to coordinate meetings, shoots, working with the editing team and so forth.
As the finished product came together, my dream started taking shape. I wanted to provide the community with a tangible record of our journey, for posterity. I want future generations to be able to see the struggle LGBTIQ people faced in the Jewish community, from being completely taboo to being broadly accepted in the mainstream.
We now have a record of our 20 years, from 1995 to 2015. We’ve unearthed amazing archival material and brought together the people who helped make this journey possible. I’m proud to be part of this story, shared with so many amazing people, each who have made such an important contribution.
Hi-Res Image gallery
(Click on individual gallery image and follow link below to hi-res image)
Interactive Online Screener / Hi-Res download (1920×1080 591MB MPEG-4 file)
https://drive.google.com/open?
Interactive Online Screener / Hi-Res download (1920×1080 2.25GB MPEG-4 file)
NOTE: This cut is for cinemas that find the 591MB file too compressed
(Available on request)
45 second clip (for promotional purposes only, with download facility available)
https://drive.google.com/file/
2:22 trailer (223MB MPEG-4 file, with download facility available)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5eimsz0kglwsilc/Aleph%20Melbourne%20-%20Celebrating%2020%20Years%20-%20Trailer.mp4?dl=0
Digital Cinema Package (DCP)
(Available on request – file size 3.5GB)
Wraptor DCP 2k 1998 x 1080 Flat
25fps frame rate (PAL)
5.1 Surround Sound
SRT Caption File
English (14kb)
Credits
Director: Michael Barnett
Production: YouthWorx Productions & Michael Barnett
Cast: Shaun Miller, Michael Barnett, Elizabeth Syber & Dr Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli
Music: Klezmania
Contact
Michael Barnett
michael@aleph.org.au
+61417595541
Postal address: Available on application
Festival Screenings
Technical Specifications
General
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (mp42)
File size : 591 MiB
Duration : 9mn 53s
Overall bit rate : 8 344 Kbps
Codirector : codirector
Production studio : studio
ContentType : Unknown Type
Encoded date : UTC 2016-07-26 03:38:34
Tagged date : UTC 2016-07-26 03:38:34
Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Baseline@L5
Format settings, CABAC : No
Format settings, ReFrames : 1 frame
Muxing mode : Container profile=Baseline@4.1
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 9mn 53s
Bit rate : 8 185 Kbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.158
Stream size : 579 MiB (98%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 1950-07-26 03:38:34
Tagged date : UTC 1950-07-26 03:38:34
Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile : LC
Codec ID : 40
Duration : 9mn 53s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 154 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Frame rate : 43.066 fps (1024 spf)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 10.9 MiB (2%)
Title : Stereo
Language : English
Default : Yes
Alternate group : 1
Encoded date : UTC 1950-07-26 03:38:34
Tagged date : UTC 1950-07-26 03:38:34
JIFF 2016 – The Queer Sessions
This year’s Jewish International Film Festival includes a selection of films to tempt those looking for queer themes. Click on the film title for the offical JIFF page and session details in Melbourne and Sydney.*
“…fresh, frank look at coming out and coming of age in contemporary Israel” — Variety
“A female-focused Israeli rebel romance” — The Hollywood Reporter
Described as the Israeli Blue Is the Warmest Color, Barash vividly captures the heady energy and infatuation of youth, set against the backdrop of the Arab-Israeli conflict. With conservative, detached parents and an older sister who has mysteriously vanished from the IDF, 17 year old Na’ama is bored of her sleepy suburbia. But when a new girl appears at school, she sends shockwaves through Na’ama’s rigid domestic sphere, propelling her headlong into a dizzying world of sex and drugs.
A vibrant coming-of-age tale, Barash premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival, and won Best Script, Best Actress and Best Actor at Haifa International Film Festival.
—
85 MINS / HEBREW (ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
DIRECTOR — MICHAL VINIK
Family Commitments (Familie Verpflichtet)
David and Khaled are happily in love, poised to marry. Their attempts for matrimonial harmony are thwarted by family foibles: a homophobic father, a pseudo-orthodox Jewish mother, and an unexpected pregnancy. The two men have a few things to straighten out before they can say their vows and live happily ever after. An endearing and wacky family comedy.
—
85 MINS / GERMAN (ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
DIRECTOR — HANNO OLDERDISSEN
The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Der Staat Gegen Fritz Bauer)[contains some LGBT themes; * screening nationally]
“…riveting and revelatory” – Forward
Germany, 1957. Attorney General Fritz Bauer receives crucial evidence on the whereabouts of the so-called ‘Architect of the Holocaust’, Adolf Eichmann. Bauer, himself Jewish, has been trying to take crimes from the Third Reich to court ever since his return from exile, but has been stymied by an unforgiving German government. Bauer covertly elicits the help of the Israeli secret service to bring Eichmann to justice, and, in doing so, commits treason against Germany.
With fast-paced direction from Lars Kraume (Tatort), The People vs. Fritz Bauer is a historical thriller that exposes the elusiveness of evil while celebrating the tenacious heroism of Bauer. Audience Award winner at the Locarno International Film Festival, and winner of six 2016 Lolas (German Oscars), including Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay.
IN HONOUR OF Peter Sharon Ivany for their support of Jewish Film in Australia
—
105 MINS / GERMAN (ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
DIRECTOR — LARS KRAUME
“A heady, sometimes headlong blend of fable and nightmare, with overtones of David Lynch and Franz Kafka…” — NY Times
Compelling, memorable and visually spectacular, Avishai Sivan’s sophomore film tells the story of a young Hasidic student who undergoes an immense spiritual crisis. Haim-Aron is the son of an overbearing butcher, and a devout and methodical follower of the scriptures: adhering to rituals and traditions of his faith with a bored detachment. A freak accident and a (near) death experience change everything, as Haim-Aron finds himself at odds with his sexuality and religious beliefs.
Magnetising audiences with its bold depictions of sexuality and faith, Tikkun is a stylish and unsettling film that offers a visceral and tumultous experience of a man struggling against repressive forces. Winner of Best Feature Film, Best Cinematography, Best Script and Best Actor at Jerusalem Film Festival, and the Silver Leopard Prize at 2015 Locarno Film Festival.
—
121 MINS / HEBREW, YIDDISH (ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
DIRECTOR — AVISHAI SIVAN
Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me (Lama Azavtani)
“Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me doesn’t just have all the elements of a cinematic feat; it is one.” — Nisimazine
Muhammed is a young Israeli Palestinian man, meandering along the fringes of society. He is sexually and culturally confused and is drifting aimlessly through life. He is drawn in by the enigmatic Gurevitch, a motorbike-riding mechanic and the two begin an illicit and dangerous relationship. With a cast composed of non-actors, Israeli director, Hadar Morag, has created a visceral and immersive landscape, and a filmworld permeated by a sense of unease. Premiered at Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti Competition.
—
94 MINS / HEBREW, ARABIC (ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
DIRECTOR — HADAR MORAG
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: just call for marriage equality
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach wants to know how to respond to same-sex relationships.
It’s really simple. Call for marriage equality.
Former Bialik College student marries her same-sex partner
Today I received a copy of the Bialik College newsletter Shelanu (Issue 4, Sep 2015). On the back page is a list of Births, Engagements and Marriages. Ever hopeful, my eye was caught by the marriage announcement of 2004 student Deborah Konopnicki to Amy Hespe. Ground breaking news. Mazal Tov!
To the best of my knowledge Deborah is the first female past student of Bialik College to marry a same-sex partner and the first to be announced in the school newsletter. As a past student of Bialik College myself (1981-83) I am probably the first (male) past student of the school to marry a same-sex partner, having travelled to New Zealand in January 2014 to undertake the formalities.**
Aleph Melbourne wishes Deborah and Amy many years of happiness together (alongside all the other Bialik married couples). Hopefully our marriages to our same-sex partners can be solemnised and/or recognised under Australian law sooner than later.
MB.
** We’ll gladly acknowledge as first any former student of Bialik College who has earlier married a same-sex or gender-diverse partner.
MR: Aleph Melbourne marks 20 years with historical documentary
MEDIA RELEASE
ALEPH MELBOURNE MARKS 20 YEARS WITH HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
SEPTEMBER 10 2015
Aleph Melbourne is a social, support and advocacy group for same-sex attracted and gender diverse (LGBTIQ) people in Melbourne’s Jewish community.
Aleph Melbourne was formed in 1995 and is marking it’s 20th anniversary by making a short documentary. The movie will cover all aspects of the group and the significant and positive impact it’s had on the community over the past 20 years.
Glen Eira City Council have given Aleph Melbourne a small grant of $3,300 for the project and we have engaged Youthworx Productions to make the documentary. We aim to raise $10,000 to allow us to comfortably make 10-15 minutes of footage. Additional funding will be gratefully welcomed to allow us to include more history, stories, interviews, photos, newspaper articles etc.
We are crowd-funding through IndieGoGo with all details are available at:
https://igg.me/at/aleph20
Major and premier (corporate) sponsorship packages are available. Individual contributors are invited to select from packages that allow participation and acknowledgement in the documentary.
Aleph Melbourne Convenor Michael Barnett said “I am very excited in marking this important milestone by making a documentary of Aleph Melbourne at 20 years. It is vitally important to record the history and achievements of our small group. People will look back in years to come and understand the particular challenges of the time we lived in, in terms of recognition, acceptance and understanding of our sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The documentary is expected to be completed in the first half of 2016 however the initial crowd-funding campaign has a closing deadline of October 8.
Contact
Michael Barnett – Convenor
0417-595-541
michael@aleph.org.au
Media resources
Aleph Melbourne logo – colour (lo-res, hi-res)
Campaign graphic: “Documenting 20 years”
Campaign graphic: “We’ve turned 20 – We’re making a doco”YouTube: “Aleph turns 20! Help us tell the story”
ENDS.
“I’m Gay and I’m Jewish. Do I still belong?”
Young Jewish Professionals – Melbourne presents panel event I’m Gay and I’m Jewish. Do I still belong? as part of their Shavuot night “A Night To Ignite”:
Facebook event here.
Disclaimer: In posting this event Aleph Melbourne does not necessarily endorse the views of the organisation hosting this event or that of the speakers presenting at it. Aleph Melbourne also advises that there are multiple ‘Torah perspectives’ on homosexuality, such as that of Masorti and Progressive Judaism, which offer a more inclusive and accepting perspective to that of Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Judaism.
Limmud Oz 2014: the Queer sessions
This year there are two Queer-related sessions at Limmud Oz 2014 in Melbourne.
Details below.
Sunday June 8
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Room: HB36
The Yids are all right: the hidden Jews behind British Pop
Gary Holzman
Arts | Other
It is a little known fact that a group of gay Jewish promoters had a substantial influence on the development of pop music in the late 50s and early 60s in Britain. In this session we will investigate the reasons for this phenomenon and also look in depth at the hidden Jewish promoters and songwriters behind such popular British pop and rock acts of the 60s and 70s as Cliff Richard, the Beatles, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Freddie & the Dreamers, Herman’s Hermits, The Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, Fleetwood Mac, The Hollies, 10cc, Procol Harum, T-Rex and many others. Viewing vintage film & video clips, analysing song lyrics and listening to a lot of great music are all part of this entertaining session.
Monday June 9:
5:15pm – 6:15pm
Room: H2.38
Orthogay – has anything changed for gay men and women in the orthodox world? Will it ever?
Shamir Caplan
Text, Tradition and Faith | Jewish Ideas
One of the most challenging issues of our time within the Orthodox community is how to deal with homosexuality. How to reconcile the Biblical texts with modern science’s understanding of sexuality? How has Orthodoxy responded to homosexuals within the community? This is surely a defining issue for Orthodoxy in the modern era. Come join us for a presentation and respectful and open discussion on this important topic.