Australian Jewish News, October 28 2016
Follow the progress of our documentary on Facebook: Aleph 20 Project
Category: Jewish
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
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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
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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
Thank you very much Alan Goldberg
Aleph Melbourne remembers Alan Goldberg QC for his part in making Tasmania, and all of Australia, a better place. Our deepest condolences to his family on their loss.
“And proudly, perhaps most proudly, he acted for Mr Croome, in the attack on Tasmania’s anti-homosexuality laws, an attack which lead to their repeal.” — Ray Finkelstein reflecting on the achievements of the late Alan Goldberg
This clip is a 10 second extract from Ray Finkelstein’s address (at around the 27 minute mark) from the MCK recording of the service of Alan Goldberg’s funeral on July 25 2016. Ray Finkelstein’s address starts around the 20 minute mark.
From the postscript of Rodney Croome’s 1995 article “Sexual (mis)conduct: The High Court and gay law reform in Tasmania“:
“Senior Counsel in the case will be Alan Goldberg QC, immediate past President of the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties. Alan Goldberg has offered his services pro bono, because his clients were unable to obtain Commonwealth or State legal aid, despite fulfilling the criteria for funding as a public interest test case. It was also despite a legal opinion from Mr Goldberg which addressed concerns about standing. Toonen and Croome have both expressed concern to the press that the decisions not to fund their case have been made for political and not legal reasons.”
Gender-diverse? Get noticed in the 2016 Census.
With the increasing visibility of gender diverse people in the Australian Jewish community, it’s important to get an accurate understanding of how many identify beyond the gender binary of female and male.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has advised that in the 2016 Census, respondents may identify a non-binary gender if they so choose. This applies to people who do not always identify just as either one of male or female.
There are two official ways to achieve this:
- If you are using a paper census form, leave the Female and Male box boxes blank and write in your preferred gender identity in the space next to them.
- If you are using the online census form, call the Census Inquiry Service on 1300‑214‑531 and request a special online form that has an Other option for gender on it.
Source: Australian Census to offer ‘other’ option for gender question | SBS
UPDATE 03/08/16: Official ABS instructions here.
Media Release: Aleph Melbourne welcomes Mount Scopus Inclusivity Statement
ALEPH MELBOURNE
MEDIA RELEASE
JULY 22 2016
Aleph Melbourne welcomes the “Inclusivity Statement”[1] issued to parents by Mount Scopus Memorial College on June 20 2016.
This statement is the first public acknowledgement by the school for the need to offer specific support to same-sex attracted and gender diverse students, as well as students from rainbow families.
Whilst the school has not yet adopted a comprehensive program such as that offered by the Safe Schools Coalition Australia[2] (SSCA), this is an important first step, as it offers a foundation for the school to build on.
Increasingly, the Australian school landscape is understanding that the era of marginalising same-sex attracted, intersex, and gender diverse students is over and is seeking better ways to include and value the diversity of these students.
Strong leadership has already been demonstrated in the Victorian Jewish school community, with The King David School, Sholem Aleichem College and Bialik College being long-standing members of SSCA.
As Mount Scopus finds its feet in supporting their previously neglected students, it will discover a fantastic surge in performance from those students it enables to be authentic to themselves. The more support these students receive, whether at school, at home or in the community, the more they will thrive.
Aleph Melbourne looks forward to further initiatives from Mount Scopus Memorial College that actively demonstrate support for their LGBTIQ students and wishes the school a hearty congratulations for taking this first brave step.
Media contact: Michael Barnett – 0417-595-541
[1] http://aleph.org.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2016_07_20_-_Mount_Scopus_Inclusivity_Statement_Letter.pdf[2] http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au
Petition – Equality 4 Students
PETITION: EQUALITY 4 STUDENTS
To Members of the Victorian Parliament:
Under Victoria’s laws, religious schools are allowed to discriminate against students on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
This means students could be expelled, excluded or otherwise treated unfavourably just for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
The Victorian Greens Equality for Students Bill will protect students from discrimination by removing the right of religious schools to discriminate against students on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
All students should be protected from discrimination, regardless of the type of school they attend.
I urge you to support the Victorian Greens Equality for Students Bill.
Download the bill here. Read the second reading speech here.
SIGN PETITION HERE.
AIJAC should apologise for unsubstantiated criticism of Greens policy
On June 27 2016 the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) published an article by Ahron Shapiro critical of the Australian Greens entitled “The Greens and Israel“.
The article opened with the following caution:
Pre-election polling and analysis suggests the Australian Greens party is likely to pick up one or more lower house seats this election – on top of retaining the seat of Melbourne. This gives it the potential to not only hold the balance of power in the Senate, but if a hung parliament results from this election, also determine who forms government – with very significant leverage over the minority government thus formed.
and concluded with the following section on domestic policy:
Religious Exemptions
A further issue in the Greens platform likely to concern many in Australia is its policy of removing clauses granting limited exemptions to religious organisations from anti-discrimination laws. This would likely impact significantly on Jewish schools and other communal institutions and concern has been expressed about this policy by Jewish community leaders.
Aleph Melbourne approached AIJAC for clarification of the “significant impact” and the “expressed concern” referred to in the article.
Colin Rubinstein, AIJAC Executive Director, provided the following explanation:
In response to your query I refer you to the story below in the Australian from May 24.
While it may be that there was not much Jewish reaction in the press on the Greens plan, the reaction that was published was top-level.
Peter Wertheim does not comment on every story he is approached for, and his decision to comment here, I would say, well reflected his confidence and our feedback too that he was conveying the community’s sentiment expressed anecdotally behind the scenes.
At any rate, our mention of this plan took up a very small part of our overall report on the Greens, and should be put in proper perspective.
Colin also provided the two source paragraphs from the May 24 2016 article “Federal election 2016: Greens under pressure on religion reforms” in The Australian by David Crowe:
Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are objecting to the Greens plan to remove the religious exemptions, saying it could force people to act against their faith.
and:
Executive Council of Australian Jewry director Peter Wertheim said: “It would be wrong and unworkable for the law to compel people to do things that are contrary to their religious beliefs or conscience.’’
Independently, Aleph Melbourne had contacted Peter Wertheim, Executive Director of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, on May 24 2016 about the aforementioned article, querying if he had been quoted accurately. Peter provided the following response:
Here is the whole quote I gave to The Australian.
It is appropriate for the law to ensure that people are not discriminated against at work or in accessing education, housing and other services, because of their race, gender, sexual preference, age or disability. However, it would be wrong and unworkable for the law to compel people to do things that are contrary to their religious beliefs or conscience.
My comment would therefore not apply to a proposed change to the definition of marriage in section 5[1] of the Marriage Act. But it would apply to a proposed repeal of section 47[2] of the Marriage Act. My understanding is that the proponents of marriage equality are only seeking the former, not the latter. I didn’t refer specifically to the Greens, but given the vagueness and generality of Senator McKimm’s statements I couldn’t work out what he was proposing, and therefore thought it was right to comment.
It is evident that AIJAC was not aware of Peter Wertheim’s full quote supplied to The Australian, and by inference was similarly unaware that Peter was referring to issues relating to the Marriage Act and not anti-discrimination legislation.
AIJAC was lobbying their interest groups to vote unfavourably for the Greens in the July 2 2016 Federal election. Religious exemptions to anti-discrimination legislation directly impact LGBTIQ Australians, some of whom are Jewish, who are employed by Jewish organisations. It is deeply disappointing that AIJAC targeted the Greens anti-discrimination policy based on an unsubstantiated claim, more so when it has the potential to hurt some of the most vulnerable members of society.
It is also deeply disappointing that AIJAC attempted to minimise the significance of mentioning the paragraph about the Greens policy on removal of religious exemptions to anti-discrimination legislation. The damage to people’s lives due to this exemption is amply significant.
An apology from AIJAC to the Greens and to LGBTIQ people for their unfair criticism of the Greens policy would be appreciated.
[1] http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma196185/s5.html
[2] http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma196185/s47.html
We Call Out Homophobic Clerics, But What About The Rabbis? | New Matilda
Cathy Wilcox: We won’t mention it if you don’t
We won't mention it if you don't.
My @smh @theage cartoon. pic.twitter.com/MfIt2vTWwu— The Cathy Wilcox (@cathywilcox1) June 19, 2016