GRAND PRIX COMPETITION

HOT HOUSE

IIsrael, 2006, 89 min., Hebrew, Aramaic, English

Director: Shimon Dotan
Producer: Arik Bernstein
Script: Shimon Dotan
Cinematography: Shai Goldman, Philippe Bellaiche, Hanna Abu Sade
Editing: Ayala Benga,
Music: Ron Klein
Sound: several
Production company: Alma Films
Print Source:
Arik Bernstein Alma Films
4 Herman Cohen St.
Tel-Aviv, 64385
Israel
Tel.: +972-3-522 4061
Fax: +972-3-522 4826
e-mail: alma@alma-films.com
www.alma-films.com


Hot House

Nearly 10,000 Palestinians are incarcerated in Israel today. Most Israelis regard these "security prisoners" as murderers and criminals. To the Palestinians, however, they are freedom fighters, heroes, and martyrs. After securing extraordinary access to the highest-security institutions, acclaimed filmmaker Shimon Dotan turns his camera on everyday prison life for the men and women convicted for acts of terrorism and uncovers an alarming truth: Israeli prisons have become a breeding ground for the next generation of Palestinian leaders and a hotbed for terrorist plots. Against the backdrop of the Palestinian Parliament elections of January 2006, Dotan explores the cycle of violence, the evolution of conflict and the organizations involved in a centuries-old struggle. What he finds are informed prisoners who keep their finger on the pulse of the outside world through newspapers and television, some of whom are committed to negotiations, while others are proudly serving sentences for their participation in suicide bombings (the cold-blooded testimony of a female Hamas leader regarding her involvement in blowing up a Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem is particularly unnerving). Dotan’s provocative and layered approach to this difficult, and often glossed over, topic results in a doc that is both a humanizing force and a chilling wake-up call.

Shimon Dotan was born in Ajud, Romania in 1949. He received his BFA from the Tel Aviv University. Dotan has taught filmmaking at the Tel Aviv University and at Concordia University in Montreal. A Fellow of the New York Institute of the Humanities at NYU. Recipient of numerous prestigious film awards.

Filmography:

Diamond Dogs (2007), fiction;
Hot House (2006), Special Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival 2007;
You Can Thank Me Later (1998), fiction;
Coyote Run (1996), fiction;
Warriors (1994), fiction;
The Finest Hour (1991), fiction;
Hiuch HaGdi (1986), fiction;
Repeat Drive (1982), fiction.

FRIDAY, MARCH 30 AT 7:00 PM./FACETS CINEMATHEQUE

MONDAY, APRIL 2 AT 8:00 PM./THE WILMETTE THEATRE

TUESDAY, APRIL 3 AT 3:00 PM./GALLERY THEATRE