Blue Box
I belong to a generation of Israelis, raised on the myth: 'A land without a people for a people without a land'. For as long as I remember, we were told how our founding fathers arrived in a barren country to make the desert bloom. We were spoon-fed images of Hebrew pioneers, clearing the land, draining the swamps and building the new towns and villages, which we now call home. They could do this thanks to the JNF- the Jewish National Fund. Every Jewish home and school had this little blue box, where people put their spare change to help raise money for what they thought was the noble mission of acquiring the historic land of Israel for the Jewish people. This is the official story, but not the whole story. Those little boxes changed the face of the Middle East.
The story behind how Israel obtained the land it sits on today and how its borders were drawn is one of the most sensitive topics that nobody really wants to talk about, even today, more than 70 years later. Joseph Weits was the man who conducted this land take-over as head of the JNF from 1932 to 1970.
Revelations of uncomfortable family details often make for the best documentaries, and filmmaker Michal Weits’ detailed and absorbing film Blue Box has all of the elements for debate, controversy and angst as she delves into the diaries of her long-revered great grandfather hailed as one of the heroic pioneers of Israel. Businessdoceurope.com
Michal Weits is an Israeli documentary director and producer, studied at the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School. Former head producer of the leading Israeli documentary Channel 8 (HOT network), in charge of highly acclaimed films: "The Law in These Parts”, "5 Broken Cameras", "The Flat", and many more .In 2013 Weits Founded 'Tape Runners', an independent production company. ‘Tape Runners' titles include: Production: "WALL" (director: Moran Ifergan), winner for the best documentary, DocAviv film festival 2017. Distribution: "The Decent One", "No Place on Earth" and more. BLUE BOX is Weits' debut film as a director.
written & directed by
Michal Weits
produced by
Assaf Amir
Uri Smoly
Ina Fichman
Frederik Nicolai
Eric Goossens
executive Producer
Ira Levy
edited by
Doron Djerassi
Erez Laufer
directors of Photography
Daniel Kedem
Avner Shahaf
Daniel Miller
graphic Design
Freek Quartier
Anton Roebben
animations
Pascal Vermeersch
Freek Quartier
Sem Brys
animation production
Frédéric Dierickx
Kristof Lantin
animation studio
Walking the Dog
official selection HotDocs, 2021
official selection DocAviv, 2021
presented at EBU pitch Sheffield Doc Fest, 2019
awarded with the HotDocs Pitch Award, 2017
a Norma Production
in co-production with
Off World
Intuitive Pictures
With the participation of
VRT-CANVAS
Umedia in association with Ufund
Yes Docu (Israel)
Radio-Canada
Knowledge Network (Canada)
NHK (Japan)
VPRO (Netherlands)
RTS (Switzerland)
With the support of
Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF|FILM)
The Belgian Federal Government Tax Shelter
NFCT
Cultural Administration
Israel Ministry of Culture and Sport
The Israel Film Council
Rogers Documentary Fund
Sodec
Canada Media Fund
Israel Film Center