Yossi Banai

Pillar of Fire focuses on the History of Zionism, beginning in 1896, in the wake of Theodor Herzl's revival of the concept of Jewish nationalism and continues to follow the Jewish People in the 20th century, the early stages of Zionism, followed by the waves of Aliyah prior to the founding of Israel, the Revival of the Hebrew language, the Ottoman Empire's rule in over the Land of Israel, the British Mandate, Anti-Semitism in Europe, the rise of Nazism and The Holocaust, the history of the Yishuv, the Jewish struggle for independence, and ends in 1948, with the Israeli Declaration of Independence.

Ariel, a young French Jew, decides to leave his family to go to Israel and secretly become an agent of Mossad, the Israeli secret service. After years of training, his first mission is in Paris to steal secrets from Remy Prieur, a French atomic scientist.

A quirky, surrealistic film version of a play by Nisim Aloni about a bride who flees her wedding and a clerk who flees his humdrum existence by escaping to the park every Wednesday afternoon to hunt—and release—butterflies. The encounter between the two takes place in a park.

A documentary short about the life of 90-year-old actor, Yehoshua Bertonov; a pillar of Israel’s HaBima Theatre, and the 1959 Israel Theatre Prize laureate.

Thirteen years after his death, the great Yossi Banai comes to life for one final encore. A cinematic memoir pieced together from numerous archival materials - films, plays, radio shows, songs and stage performances - this personal documentary is led by Banai's deep iconic voice. An actor, singer, writer and director, Banai represented the pure essence and contradictions of Israeli culture: an atheist from a religious family, a native that insisted on importing European motives and a consensual Israeli figure that wasn't afraid to take a political stand. From childhood to death, through love, family and life on the stage, Yossi Banai directs the spotlight on to his own image.

An English-speaking film produced on behalf of the Israeli Center of the International Theater Institute, providing international audience with an overview of modern Israeli theater, including scenes of renowned Israeli theater productions from the theater season of 1967. The film opens with excerpts from “The Dybbuk” at Habima Theater, and includes scenes from the successful musicals of the Cameri Theater “Utz Li Gutz Li” (Rumpelstiltskin) and “King Solomon and Shalmai The Shoemaker”. Other excerpts include scenes from the plays “The American Princess” by Nissim Aloni at the Seasons Theater, “He Walked Through the Fields” by Moshe Shamir at the Haifa Theater, Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler”, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf”, and more.

Pillar of Fire focuses on the History of Zionism, beginning in 1896, in the wake of Theodor Herzl's revival of the concept of Jewish nationalism and continues to follow the Jewish People in the 20th century, the early stages of Zionism, followed by the waves of Aliyah prior to the founding of Israel, the Revival of the Hebrew language, the Ottoman Empire's rule in over the Land of Israel, the British Mandate, Anti-Semitism in Europe, the rise of Nazism and The Holocaust, the history of the Yishuv, the Jewish struggle for independence, and ends in 1948, with the Israeli Declaration of Independence.