Belfast Blues follows Israeli journalist and author Ithamar Handelman Smith, who moves to Belfast to escape the political reality in Israel which has become impossible for him to ignore and even more impossible to bear. But in Belfast he discovers a unique phenomenon- for some decades the Northern Irish Catholic Republicans have been siding with Palestine and the PLO, while the Protestant Unionists identify and admire the state of Israel. Far from escaping the Israeli Palestinian conflict, Ithamar finds himself reliving it in every aspect of his daily life.
Director: Itai Lev
Script: Itai Lev & Itamar Handelman-Smith
Producer: Yoav Roeh & Aurit Zamir
Coproducer: Eamonn Devlin – Triplevision Productions- Belfast, UK
Duration: 60
Year: 2010
Status: In production
Format: HD
Language: English, Hebrew
Subtitles: English, Habrew
Partners: Northern Ireland Screen
Broadcasters: Noga Communicaions
The film “Belfast Blues” deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as reflected in the Northern Ireland conflict, whereby the rival camps, Catholics and Protestants, adopted symbols taken from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The film is told through the eyes of an expatriate Israeli author, Ithamar Handelman-Smith, who moved to Belfast with his British wife to escape the political reality in Israel which has become impossible for him to ignore and even more impossible to bear. But in Belfast he discovers a unique phenomenon- for some decades the Northern Irish Catholic Republicans have been siding with Palestine and the PLO, while the Protestant Unionists identify and admire the state of Israel. Far from escaping the Israeli Palestinian conflict, Ithamar finds himself reliving it in every aspect of his daily life. Calling it “the same struggle”, the Protestants identify with Israel while the Catholics adopt the Palestinian narrative of an occupied people crying out for independence. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is ever present in the streets of Belfast. In July, Belfast’s “Month of Parades” – the two rivaling camps march in parades in which the flags of Israel and Palestine are a common sight. Ithamar endeavors to embrace his new identity and become a British citizen, and as part of this process he studies the history of Britain and researches this phenomenon. In his research of the years of bloody conflict between the Northern Ireland factions, a conflict that ended with the “Good Friday” Agreement, Ithamar discovers that the peace in Northern Ireland, as fragile as it may be, is a sane, cultural, forward thinking option to resolving international-religious conflicts. The dispute in Northern Ireland is still “alive and kicking” but it is under control. He will quickly learn that in order to understand the focus of the conflict he will have to go to the football fields where the essence of the Catholic-Protestant, Israeli-Palestinian conflict is fused. Ithamar, who was never fond of football, finds himself gradually being swept up by the local “football religion”. The film’s message will attempt to understand the universality of all conflicts versus the distinctiveness of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We will attempt to discover what transformed it into a conflict that generates global identification with the cause and find out if we can learn a thing or two about the solution to our conflict from Northern Irish history.
Itai Lev was born in Israel in 1970. He studied film at Tel Aviv University and graduated in 1997. His thesis film "A Five Minute Walk", which he wrote as well as directed, evolved into a feature film which was supported by the Israel Film Fund, won him the "new director" award at the Jerusalem Film Festival and screened at international film festivals.
His second feature film "Little Heroes" targeted young audiences, and with a budget of 750,000 USD was also funded by the Israel Film Fund. "Little Heroes" screened in festivals in London, Toronto, Hamburg, Montreal and Chicago among others, and won several awards. His latest feature as writer and director- "Sea Salt" premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival in July 2010.
Itai wrote and co-directed the documentary "Brain Storm" with Yael Reich, funded by Noga Communications- Israel Channel 8, which premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival 2009.
In addition he co-wrote the documentary "Shabak S", supported by the New Fund for TV and Film and the Second Authority for TV.
Itai is currently developing a new documentary "Belfast Blues" with the support of Noga Communications- Israel Channel 8.
In addition to his work as writer and director, Itai is a painter and photographer and has exhibited his art work. He brings a unique visual sensibility to his projects as well as a strong sense of drama and an in-depth look at human beings.
Ithamar Handelman-Smith, 34, is one of Israel's best known young writers. He has published two volumes of poetry and two collections of short stories under the pseudonym Itamar Ben Cnaan, and his first novel Open caused debate and controversy on its publication in 2004. Since 2004, he has contributed a regular personal column, first as Editor of Time Out Tel Aviv, and later as Cultural Editor of Ha'Ir Group, the local magazine of Ha'Aretz Newspapers. Often described as the voice of the young Israeli generation, his fiction and social commentary provides a sharp insight into this generation of secular Israeli identity, and he has been selected as the youngest author to represent 20th-century Hebrew literature in translation by Yale University Press. A respected film historian and lecturer, he has been the subject of several documentary films, including the award-winning The Ashkenazim (2005) and 24 Hours.
