Compelling documentary examines the history of the kibbutz movement in Israel
INVENTING OUR LIFE: THE KIBBUTZ EXPERIMENT (Toby Perl Freilich, 2012)
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St.
Opens Wednesday, April 25
212-255-2243
www.quadcinema.com
firstrunfeatures.com
Inspired by her eighteen-year-old sister’s move to a kibbutz back in 1968, Toby Perl Freilich has written, directed, and produced the compelling documentary Inventing Our Life: The Kibbutz Experiment. Freilich (Secret Lives: Hidden Children & Their Rescuers) traces the hundred-year history of the kibbutz movement in Israel by meeting with three generations of current and former kibbutzniks, who discuss what life was like on such collectives as Degania, Hulda, and Sasa. Mixing in archival footage and black-and-white and color home movies that include some of the very people she is speaking with, Freilich delves into the daily life of the kibbutz, beginning with the earliest immigrants settling a vast wasteland and organizing socialist communes in which most everything was shared; there was no separation of wealth, children were reared and educated together mostly outside the home, and food was eaten in large dining halls that served as the center of the community’s social life. Although critical to the success of the new state of Israel in 1948, the kibbutz grew out of favor by the 1980s as the younger generation began to leave, government support waned, and privatization beckoned. Such historians and philosophers as Avishai Margalit, Moshe Halbertal, and Menachem Brinker place the kibbutz in historical context as men, women, and children talk about what they loved — and hated — about living on a kibbutz. Freilich will be at the Quad for Q&As following the 7:10 screenings on Friday and Saturday and the 5:00 show on Sunday.