For two years in a row documentary filmmakers have competed in this international competition.

This year 15 documentary authors accepted the challenge of creating a short film on a given subject in just 5 days.

The subject of the competition is strength.

“Docu-Challenge” is the brainchild of executive producer and artistic manager Ari Davidovitch, who recruited various sponsors and organizations for the evening.

[Ari Davidovitch, Executive Producer and Artistic Manager, Docu-Challenge 2010]:
“The competition is being held in Israel for the second year in a row. The format is actually from the USA, and we’ve brought it to Israel. It is being held as part of the ‘Docu-Spring’ festival, which is going on right now, and tonight we will show the films for the first time.”

We caught up with 2 young creators during the evening who decided to focus on the subject of physical strength. They want to tell the story of the strongest man in Israel.

The two shared with us the challenges they faced while collaborating on the film.

[Yigal Lerner, Director]:
“It was basically the two of us involved from A-Z in the production of this film. Sometimes this could be considered an advantage, but it is actually a disadvantage, because when two people need to make a decision, the veto is actually in the hand of a third party, who in our case was the editor, who is also our partner.”

The creators of the films decide to draw lots for the genre of the film.

[Rottem Malenki, Director]:
"We already had a movie and characters and people before the launch, and we said to ourselves OK, we've got a movie and everything's fine, as long as we do not draw the ‘sports’ genre - and then at the raffle we drew exactly this genre, 
sports. So after the launch, while the clock was already ticking, we had to start looking for a new subject."

In a film directed by young Karin Kyner, workers in a Jewish burial society dedicated to bringing the deceased to a proper burial, participated in the production. The film allows a glimpse into the daily lives of people in this line of work.

[Shmuel Avitzor,  Hevra Kaddisha (Burial Society)]:
“Our daily activity at work is dealing with the deceased. Besides that, we also have other pursuits when dealing with day-to-day life. This combination between the living and the dead is a matter of routine for us. On the one hand we might help saving a person in need, and on the other we might help a person’s family who is grieving over his death.”

To conclude the evening, the executive producer shared his opinion.

[Ari Davidovitch, Executive Producer and Artistic Manager, Docu-Challenge 2010]:
“I believe this competition is catching on in the documentary industry in Israel, and eventually also abroad, since we distribute these films all over the world, and they also participate in various festivals. This actually serves as an identity card and a credential for the Israeli documentary industry worldwide.”

NTD News, Tel Aviv, Israel

Reporter: janet Zrian 

Photographer: Michael Hash