The 2014 Israeli feature film Manpower presents moments in the lives of four inhabitants of a rundown Tel Aviv neighbourhood, in which the lives of lower-middle-class Israelis intertwine with those of immigrants (mostly from African and the Philippines). Depicting a multi-layered socio-cultural reality, the movie offers a critical commentary on immigration vis-à-vis broader issues of personal and collective identity, family and community, a nation state and its myths. Careful “reading” of the film offers a gratifying unpacking of its complex messages, conveyed through image and plot. Such study of immigration unites intellectual analysis with emotional response and an aesthetic experience.

15.30-17.00         Film Projection : Manpower (Israel, 2014)

17:00-17:15         Coffee break

17.15-18.30         Orit Camir |  EUI

                              Discussant: Shai Tagner | Roma Tre University

Suggested readings: 

http://assaf.org.il/en/sites/default/files/Where%20there%20is%20No%20Free%20Will.pdf

http://assaf.org.il/en/content/tel-aviv-holot-reactions-mixed-fateful-high-court-decision-migrants