Friday, March 5, 2010

The Israeli Dancer

by Ari

Back in 2008 I started the process of writing a narrative feature that chronicled the life of my grandfather, Dani Dassa, a dance choreographer from Israel who came to the United States in the 1950's to study modern technique with famed choreographers like Martha Graham (one of the pioneers of modern dance), only to find himself using the opportunity to connect his interests with his own culture and personal history in a way that created and influenced a community of Jewish people throughout the U.S. and eventually back home in Israel. Someone once asked my grandfather, "Can you really make better Jews from dancing?". His answer was immediate: "that's exactly what I do".

The story was a traditional Hollywood epic in its own way - a young boy grows up with little wealth in a land fraught with tension and violence, then becomes a man who travels to a America, a foreign land, to find a way to succeed in his field despite the challenges and obstacles that stand in his way. Many biopics are built on a similar narrative arc and only few manage to rise above convention. That said, I tried my best to meld a personal story with a universal theme, all based on the recollections and memories from my grandfather's storied and exciting life. That was really the key to the whole thing - that it was a good story, a unique story, one well worth telling not only because my grandfather is a link to an old world and a different way of living, but because his particular ambitions took him to places and people that could fill 10 movies with information and anecdotes. It's exciting stuff, especially when you hear it told in person by my grandfather himself. He's a fascinating subject, full of heart, emotion and passion. He has a great love and attachment to his home, his history, his family and all the wild and inspiring experiences he's had over 81 years.

Now here was the first issue with my 167 page narrative script. I may have been pleased to have written an ambitious, old-fashioned epic with a personal edge, but how could it really capture the voice and essence of the real person? I certainly like to believe the script is exciting, emotional and even accessible to a wide audience, however reenacting the life of someone who is mostly unknown outside of the community he established is 1) extremely difficult to fund, and 2) ....a reenactment.

That's why we have the documentary film. Here's a way to tell the story the way it should be told...from my grandfather himself. From the real source. He also happens to be a natural storyteller, even when he discusses events from his own life. He describes things with a dramatic intensity that mixes odd, surprisingly poetic passages (poetic in his own way) and a sense of humor very unique to his culture. Sometimes people get it, sometimes they don't. That's part of the fun. Sometimes he's extremely serious in a very authoratative"listen to me or I will crush you" type way, but then he usually lightens up a bit. One thing is certain: my grandfather has lived an incredible life and it means a lot to me that I will be able to share it with people through film.

I'm sure it will be a long process to put this documentary together, but preparation is already underway. I've been testing the equipment I'll be shooting with, the Panasonic Gh1, another dslr similar to the Canon 7d (used on Winter Nights) and I like the way it feels and looks so far. The workflow is a bit confusing and irritating at times, but it's a minor compromise in the long run. It shoots 1080p at 24fps, which looks very good when the camera is still, not so good for lots of movement. 720p looks damn good as well and runs much smoother when moving or tracking with the camera. The image is still extremely clear and you have the choice to shoot in AVCHD mode or Motion JPEG (the latter chews up memory though). Overall I like the quality of the images and the long recording time it offers in AVCHD mode.

So the next film is in production. I'll try to document the making-of process as much as I can here on the site. Here's a teaser promo reel I put together using stock footage and a couple photographs as an introduction to the person and his dances.