The exhibition opens at the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv on Monday and will run until March 27.Shemer revisited Iconic songstress Naomi Shemer and her work will be front and center this Thursday (8 p.m.) at Beit Hashahmat on Tagore Street in Ramat Aviv when singer, pianist and community singing host Nava Spitzer oversees an evening of song and stories designed to shed light on Shemer, who died in 2004.Spitzer’s show, Od Lo Ahavti Dai (I Have Not Loved Enough) – The Song of Naomi Shemer’s Life, will enlighten her audience about the stories and characters behind many of Shemer’s bestknown songs, including “Noa,” which has been recorded and performed by a wide range of artists over the years, such as Arik Lavi and Meital Trabelsi, and will reveal which city was the subject of “Ha’ir Be’afor” (The Gray City), the many renditions of which include recordings by Avi Toledano and Yehoram Gaon.The audience will be invited to sing along with Spitzer. The lyrics will be screened as will photographs from various junctures of Shemer’s life.For tickets and more information: (03) 643-6948.
Beyond Marceau’s words Rutie Tamir will offer a tribute to the work of iconic French- Jewish actor and mime artist Marcel Marceau at the Arab- Jewish Theater in Jaffa on March 17 (9 p.m.). Tamir put together the Behind the Words show to mark the 90th anniversary of Marceau’s birth – he died in 2007 at the age of 86 – and will perform excerpts from some of his most famous works, including his mesmerizing portrayal of a character called Bip the Clown.“It is no coincidence that my show came about together with [this year’s award-winning silent movie] The Artist,” notes Tamir, who has worked in physical theater around the world for more than two decades. “We live in a very fast, hectic, cynical era, and I feel a strong pining among audiences for the quiet, pure art nonviolent lyricism and fun of yesteryear.”There will be plenty of all of the above, with some behindthe- scenes glimpses of Marceau’s life away from the stage in Behind the Words.For tickets and more information: (03) 518-5563.
Gelfman rises up A new exhibition by Maya Gelfman will open at Galeria al Hatzuk (Gallery on the Cliff) in Netanya tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.The Kumi! (Get Up!) show incorporates new works and new interpretations of previous works in an eclectic collection that incorporates delicate sketches, embroidery work and installations.The theme of Kumi! centers on the way the individual and the public as a whole cope with the past and the way it impacts on the present. In her work, Gelfman endeavors to convey a sense of the moment immediately after the peak of an action or event occurs, when the sharp end of a drama or nadir has subsided.The artist focuses on what happens after the euphoria or despair passes and on the moment when a person collects himself and decides to move on.Gelfman attributes her artistic ethos to the fact that she underwent open-heart surgery at the age of four and how, ever since, she has tried to set her sights on the future rather than feel like a victim of circumstances.Kumi! will close on May 10.
French Film Festival The ninth annual French Film Festival kicks off next Saturday at cinematheques around the country and will run until April 5. The festival will open with the latest blockbuster from France, Intouchables, a comedy by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache.Veteran British-born actress Charlotte Rampling will attend a screening of The Look, a documentary about her life and work.Other stand-outs in the festival lineup include Poliss, a drama written, directed by and starring French actress Maïwenn, about a photographer who is assigned to cover the Child Protection Unit in Paris, and Les hommes libres (Free Men) by Ismael Ferroukhi, which is set in World War II and tells the story of an Algerian immigrant who is inspired to join the Resistance by an unexpected friendship with a Jew.Screenings of the French Film Festival will take place at cinematheques in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Sderot, Rosh Pina, Holon, Herzliya and Ashdod.