Living In Boxes
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Living In Boxes
These are the last days of the shantytown quarter in southern Tel Aviv, a poor rundown neighborhood that the municipality has always tried to erase from the map. The land was sold to a contractor and he plans to evict the residents and settle them in a couple of seven-story towers to be constructed on the same site. The film accompanies the director’s sister, Orly, who lives in a small house she inherited from their grandfather; Yitzhak, their uncle, who built the neighborhood’s makeshift houses with his own hands; Oshri, the postman; and attorney Ovadia, who calls upon the neighborhood’s inhabitants to unite and fight the eviction. For three years, Ovadia and the residents have been struggling against the municipality and the contractor in a public, legal and ultimately existential battle. This is their story.
Festivals and Awards:
Jerusalem International Film Festival, Israel, 2004
Director: Simha Lev
Producer: Yahaly Gat
Production Company: Muse Productions
Cinematographer: Amitai Eisenberg
Editor: Simha Lev, Ziv Lev
Original Soundtrack: Ophir Gal
Supporter(s): The New Fund for Cinema and Television, The Second Television and Radio Authority
Subtitles: English
Film Name in Hebrew: חיים בארגזים
These are the last days of the shantytown quarter in southern Tel Aviv, a poor rundown neighborhood that the municipality has always tried to erase from the map. The land was sold to a contractor and he plans to evict the residents and settle them in a couple of seven-story towers to be constructed on the same site. The film accompanies the director’s sister, Orly, who lives in a small house she inherited from their grandfather; Yitzhak, their uncle, who built the neighborhood’s makeshift houses with his own hands; Oshri, the postman; and attorney Ovadia, who calls upon the neighborhood’s inhabitants to unite and fight the eviction. For three years, Ovadia and the residents have been struggling against the municipality and the contractor in a public, legal and ultimately existential battle. This is their story.
Festivals and Awards:
Jerusalem International Film Festival, Israel, 2004
Director: Simha Lev
Producer: Yahaly Gat
Production Company: Muse Productions
Cinematographer: Amitai Eisenberg
Editor: Simha Lev, Ziv Lev
Original Soundtrack: Ophir Gal
Supporter(s): The New Fund for Cinema and Television, The Second Television and Radio Authority
Subtitles: English
Film Name in Hebrew: חיים בארגזים