Preproduction for "Salad Stories" Trials

“Salatim,” the Hebrew word for salads, are commonly served at almost every meal in Israel, including breakfast. Preparing, serving and eating “Salatim” is a cultural phenomenon that crosses all of Israel's divides: the religious and secular, the Arab Israeli and Jewish Israeli, the Ashkenazi and Sephardic. Can one find a way to bridge differences through this common peaceful activity?  

One of the most popular salads, commonly called Israeli salad (also called, Arab salad or salat Aravi), consists of finely chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, often with the addition of onion, parsley, and peppers, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. There’s an art to preparing Israeli salad, and the most valued salad is chopped into extremely fine uniform pieces, described in Hebrew as “Katzutz, katzutz [chopped, chopped].” When I lived on a Kibbutz when I was 19, I would offer to help my adopted family prepare Israeli salad, but was politely refused because it was assumed that I wouldn’t successfully cut the pieces small enough. The other day I asked a friend about the significance of cutting the vegetables so small; her answer—which I’m certain is one of many--was that some people find the act of finely chopping vegetables therapeutic. Another friend she's certain it actually tastes better. 

Apart from Israeli salad, there are a myriad of other salads, cooked and fresh, made with eggplant, peppers, cabbage, carrots, corn, artichokes, bulgur, often served either as appetizers with pita bread, humus and tehina or accompaniments to a meal. 

 

http://www.rest.co.il/sites/Default.asp?txtRestID=8646&txtNavID=2

My vision is to select people from different cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds, and ask them to make a salad of their choice. Possible subjects include the secular Israeli, the Kibbutznik, the modern Orthodox Jew, the Bedouin, the Israeli Arab, and Jews of Moroccan, Ethiopian, Yemenite and Eastern European origins. While filming them in the act of preparing a salad, I will engage them in a conversation to elicit their personal stories about their backgrounds. Interviews will be conducted in either Hebrew or English, depending on individual preference. For the trials, I’ve either spoken with or have in mind the following individuals: Hadas, a modern Orthodox Jew of Yemenite and Iranian origin, living in the Lower Galilee community of Mitzpeh Hosha’aya; Merav, a secular Israeli from Kiryat Tivon, a suburb of Haifa; Hillel, a veteran Kibbutznik from Kibbutz Gal-on in the Northern Negev, founded as part of the Socialist-Zionist movement, Hashomer Hatsa-ir; Aliza, a modern Orthodox Jew of Moroccan dissent, also living in Mitzpeh Hosha'aya; and my friend Elisheva Dara's mother of the town Kiryat Gat, also in the Northern Negev, who trekked across Ethiopia to reach Sudan and eventually make her way to Israel. Other possibilities are vast and varied: for example, through friends I hope to be connected to a nomadic Bedouin tribe that settles in the Northern Negev in the spring time.

Here are some sample questions to stimulate conversation:

What type of salad are you preparing?

What ingredients you using?

Where did you learn how to make this salad?

Describe your background: Where did your parents come from? How did they get to Israel? Why did they leave their birthplace?

I envision collecting many different stories over a one to two year period, eventually cutting them into a feature length documentary. The question is open on whether political views have a place in this film. If individuals express their political views, can this still be a film about bridge building?

Camera and Equipment

I will be using the Canon XA10 with a Rhode NTG-1 Microphone and possibly an  LED video light, depending on the lighting in the space.  For stability, I will mount the camera on a monopod. Additional equipment and crew may be necessary as the project develops.

Mise en Scene/ Framing and Composition

I'm still exploring and experimenting with framing and composition. Should the scene be set up like a cooking show with all the ingredients "mise-en-place," put in place? Do I want to go with one long take of the entire event or have varied shots—wide, medium and close up?  Should each shoot involve two or more cameras and extensive lighting, or will this be invasive and diminish the comfort level of my subjects and their willingness to share? How staged should these shoots be? Should I try and capture my subjects engaged in the act as part of their routine or in preparation for a special occasion, like a party celebrating a daughter's induction into the Israeli army (a coming of age event for Israeli boys and girls when they turn 18)?

Resources

I’m currently reading the book by Abbie Rosner, Breaking Bread in the Galilee, which explores local foods and ancient culinary traditions still being practiced in the Galilee today. Rosner demonstrates how sharing food practices is a powerful means of overcoming negative perceptions and building bridges among Jews and Arabs.

I recently read the article in the newspaper Haaretz titled, “Peace in Every Bite,” an interview with Palestinian Arab Myassar Seri.  I share her philosophy; she stated, “We need to get to know one another, be closer, more intimate, closer to the soul. Food is one of the greatest projects we can undertake in order to get to know one another up close.”

http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/.premium-1.533709

The cookbook, Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, explores the culinary traditions of Jerusalem with its diverse Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities. Both born in Jerusalem—Tamimi on the Arab east side and Ottolenghi in the Jewish west—their cookbook is about how food can bring different communities together.  I would like to see the companion documentary film Jerusalem on A Plate.