blog

The Stone Cutter

While interviewing one of our documentary subjects, we were faced with a huge 'boulder' in our path to success that day.

Previous VLogs

Christmas in Bethlehem December 2007

Desert Break November 2007

Baby Party August 2007

Hookah King August 2007

Transition August 2007

Home Sweet Home Away From Home July 2007

La Cucaracha July 2007

L'chayim July 2007

Christmas in Bethlehem

Bethlehem is one of few cities in the West Bank with a significant Christian population and is said to be the birthplace of Jesus. Spending Christmas in Bethlehem is only a dream for many Christians around the world. Since we live just a few hours away, we thought we'd take the day to go explore for ourselves. We brought along our mini-camera and put together this video to show you the scene. Check it out...

Previous VLogs

Desert Break November 2007

Baby Party August 2007

Hookah King August 2007

Transition August 2007

Home Sweet Home Away From Home July 2007

La Cucaracha July 2007

L'chayim July 2007

Desert Break

We began shooting an army hike ("masa") in the Judean desert at about 2am. After several kilometers, we stopped to take a break. Lets just say half of the 3Cities team was not feeling well that dark morning..

Previous VLogs

Baby Party August 2007

Hookah King August 2007

Transition August 2007

Home Sweet Home Away From Home July 2007

La Cucaracha July 2007

L'chayim July 2007

Sebastapol Documentary Film Festival

You Are Cordially Invited...

Screenings:

Opening night, Thursday Nov. 8th, 6:30pm

Saturday Nov. 10th, 7:30pm

Vote for Sounds of the Underground on CurrentTV!!

This week, our video 'Sounds of the Underground' was the staff pick on CurrentTV. All we need is enough votes and it will get on Al Gore's CurrentTV. You need to register with Current but it only takes a minute and it goes to a good cause. If you're already a member, just click the green light. In other news, the Travel Channel notified us that we are finalists to get a spot on their show "Whats Your Trip?"! We'll keep you posted.

Baby Party

The most addictive game in all of Israel!

Previous VLogs

Hookah King August 2007

Transition August 2007

Home Sweet Home Away From Home July 2007

La Cucaracha July 2007

L'chayim July 2007

The Hookah King

Hookah. You see it everywhere you go, but feel embarrassed to ask what its all about. You've always wanted to buy one but you don't know how. Well put your worries to rest, my friend. Steve Rubin visits the hookah king inside Jaffa's Shuk (marketplace) and lets you in on all the secrets of a good transaction. After being placed on high alert due to a manhunt for two potential terrorists in our neighborhood, we had plenty of time to edit this one. Watch and learn..

Previous VLogs

Transition August 2007

Home Sweet Home Away From Home July 2007

La Cucaracha July 2007

L'chayim July 2007

Lone Soldiers Update, August 16

Living in Israel means constantly balancing the threat of war and violence with the challenge of leading a normal, fun, and full life; and our VLog is a reflection of that. On that note, would like to talk about some of the more serious work we have been doing these last few months…

Transition

After being jumped into the neighborhood by a wiley pack of children, we feel it is necessary to show you our new location. We felt it had been too long since we posted a VLog, but have some good ones up our sleeve so stay tuned...

Home Sweet Home Away From Home

Swiiing batta batta. We want a pitcher, not a belly itcher. Lay off the steroids! These are all beautiful phrases that were brought to Israel by the Israel Baseball League (IBL).

La Cucaracha

Second Vlog and we're still warming up with plans for many more. Keep checking up.

Hey everybody!

We're excited to have this thing up and running to keep people updated on our progress. It wasn't easy but now that its here, it ain't goin nowhere. Don't forget to check out our fundraising thermometer. Also when we finish any new videos, we put 'em on the website right away. So make sure to check back regularly!!

Lets get into things. Its really starting to shape up here at Three Cities Productions. It seems as though every time we begin to get restless, something huge happens that pushes us that much closer to starting our documentary. A couple days ago we got an extremely generous donation from The Hochberg Family Foundation that gave us a huge energy boost. It feels so rewarding to know that people have the same confidence for us that we hold for ourselves in this project.

In other news, here are some pictures of our trip to the Berkeley Film Festival a couple weeks ago. We were trying to find a home for them on our website and figured the blog would be the best place to put 'em.

That is all for now. We will be sure to stay up to date in this blogosphere.

If you find yourself wondering, What's Three Cities up to?

We've made some big improvements to our website, specifically with our new logo. Here are some logo prototypes that we were deciding between. The one we ultimately chose can be found in the upper-left corner of our website. Big ups to Josh and Ben for sticking it through with us to make this web experience the wonder-world that it is today!

In the financial wing, we received two letters of rejection from grants we applied to but also got word from Norman Alexander, David's uncle, that he will make a donation towards Lone Soldiers! The Forest Foundation, a Santa Barbara-based organization, approved our grant application but insists on having their contribution be the last $5,000 once we reach that mark. Really, we are grateful to any donors and anything helps - not just in reaching our ultimate goal of $100,000, but also in keeping us excited and motivated to keep trying different options for fundraising.

Look out for our fliers! We have begun flooding them into JCC's, synagogues, restaurants, and retirement homes from California to Rhode Island, and all the way up to Canada. They are designed to aid us in our constant quest for film subjects as well as donations to make our film possible. Here's a view of what they look like:

We gotta run, go Warriors (longest winning streak in the NBA)! And go... Lakers?

Exciting new developments!

Things are getting exciting here at three-cites!! Nefesh B'Nefesh has offered to give us two seats on their next flight to Israel, and we have decided to take them up on their generous offer. This is not going to be your average flight, because everyone on it (besides Three Cities Productions of course), will be moving to Israel and making Aliyah. It also means that there will be a few individuals who are joining the army, and have agreed to be a part of our documentary.

This is a big development and we will let you know how it all goes.

Oh yeah, in other news, we finally bought ourselves one of the cameras we will use to shoot our documentary. She's a beauty. We used it to film a spec commercial for T-Mobile. It's available on current TV. www.current.tv

Still in the game

After a long, long pre-production stage we are finally beginning to act as film makers again. For a second there, I was starting to feel like a telemarketer spreading the word about a year-end sale. We bought the camera and have begun making some videos. Getting used to the equipment has been somewhat rocky, like trying to pick up juggling knives after a half-year hiatus but its all coming back easily in the form of some cool videos.

The first video we made was in response to Mel Gibson and his public opinion on Jews and the holocaust. We set out with our camera, microphone, and people skills to put together a segment we called 'Apocalypto at the Promenade'. We found that most people would feel comfortable supporting Gibson by seeing his new movie despite his history of open sexism and anti-Semitism. The most common theme we noticed in our interviewees was that they were not bothered by Gibson because he has never offended their personal views, religion, or heritage. This clearly speaks to a greater problem in our society, which is ineptness to empathize and act for people in situations outside of one's direct line of vision or experience. This video can be seen in our videos section or on Current.tv. Flex your power by voting for our segment to be on TV!

Our second video was just a fun art/animation piece where the Three Cities logo comes to life right in front of your eyes. Please check it out, also on our videos section.

Alright my people, until next time...

Welcome to the mile high blog

So here we are riding business class on El Al with Nefesh B'Nefesh... blogging. And when we say "riding" we mean we are 30,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean somewhere between New York and Ireland. It's been one hell of a day for three cities productions. After spending the night at a friends lovely apartment on the upper west side of Manhattan, we set out to buy a UV filter for our camera that we forgot to get earlier. We thought it would be an easy trip to the store and then to the airport. Boy were we wrong! There were no subways going downtown because of a building that had collapsed, so we were forced to improvise. The first bus we saw we hopped on and rode it into the unknown. Not only was it the slowest bus ever, but it dropped us off 14 blocks from the camera store. We proceeded to trek those 14 blocks on foot with all of our luggage/equipment and from that moment until now, it has been a blur. And I think we're still sweaty.

Arriving at the international terminal we were overwhelmed with tasks. The combination of people arriving, interviews, setting up for a big ceremony, and checking in our own baggage, gave us plenty to do. Watching so many families part and say goodbye was very emotional but we were able to hide behind the comfort of our camera lenses. Upon this plane, there are countless stories to be told and interesting folks to meet- we're just hoping to come out with the footage we need.

We are tired, everyone is asleep but us, and the pilot just turned on the "no blogging" sign so we gotta go. Signing off for the last time before we set foot in Israel...

Three Cities

Shofar So Good

We apologize to all our loyal bloggers for not keeping up to date, as finding a wireless internet signal out here in Israel has proven harder than anticipated. Where to begin? After two meetings, one flat tire, and almost a full week in Israel we are beginning to get a clearer understanding of what Three Cities is up against. They call New Years here 'Sylvester'. Timing and coordinating our project is no laughing matter. It requires the precision and accuracy of a brain surgeon or a ninja. Luckily, Tamir just performed a successful hypothalamus transplant and David is becoming very good at sudoku.

If they say that southerners have good hospitality then they haven't met Israelis. We have spent less money on food and drinks here than we would have back home. The falafel flows like wine, and the wine flows like hummus. The food is repetitive at times but always satisfying.

As for our documentary, we have gotten some fantastic footage of Yoni (future lone soldier) as well as interviewed our good friend and current lone soldier, Steve Rubin. Staying on a kibbutz in the north with many other lone soldiers has given us some much needed contact with chayalim bodedim.

Every step we take is a step into the unknown. But we are ready to face the darkness with cameras in hand.

Happy Sylvester!

If you wanna come to my Kotel

What weighs more, a pound of stress, or a pound of Israeli bureaucracy? Trick question, they both weigh one pound, and they are both trying to derail the steam engine that is Three Cities Productions.

In the past few days, we have been doing a lot of shooting for our new Lone Soldiers promo video. Whether it involves getting yelled at by Chassid children or taking beauty shots in the Arab market in Jerusalem, we were there to capture the moment...

Here's a collection of snapshots from the past few days:

An inside look at one of the most religious Jewish communities in Jerusalem

The colors of the Arab market in Jerusalem

Notes at the Western Wall Ceremony where soldiers in basic training receive their guns and a bible at the Wall

Three Cities hard at work

Much Energy

After meeting the most powerful psychic in all of Israel, two nights stranded on random kibbutzes, and plenty of shwarma to go around, Three Cities is wrapping up our preliminary trip to Israel. We will return with enough footage and music to put together a dope trailer/promotional video.

We have finally found some subjects that fit well in our film; from France, Brazil, South Africa, and the US. From fighting anti-semitism with activism and fists, to leaving a surfing sponsorship or a baby girl back home, our new friends have many-a-story to tell. We have postponed our flight back to the States in order to film a very important scene, which shall remain top secret until it brings tears to your eyes.

The life of a traveling journalist is one of uncertainty and surprise. In the last 3 days, Three Cities has hitchhiked for the first time, slept in an abandoned room with questionable stains on the walls, and learned the difference between techno and progressive electronic trance.

Three Cities productions is now sitting in 'Aroma'- the Starbucks of Israel. We are eating, drinking, and spitballing ideas, all of which will await us when we return to film the bulk of our documentary. While filming a stunning sunset over the Tel Aviv Beach (Left) , none other than Uri Geller (right, www.uri-geller.com/) took interest in our film. We are now proud to say that he is, yet another, loyal Three Cities fan.

Yalla, Bye

JorkyBalls to the Wall!!

After realizing it had been a while since we got a good workout, we decided to play a little JorkyBall, Israel's most popular sport. Imagine playing soccer, with 4 people, in your kitchen, if your kitchen had astro-turf, and two mini goals. That's JorkyBall. Dave got a JorkyBall to the face, and Tamir took a rough shot to the sweet spot, but it was way worth it.

Other than that, we got our tickets home and will be returning to the states next Sunday. In 5 days, we will temporarily trade in our lives as TJ's (traveling journalists) for those of SJ's (stationary journalists).

SJ's for now

One month since our last blog entry and life is so very different. Last time we posted, we were sitting at 'Aroma' in a mall in Tel Aviv. I am now sitting on my bed at home in Berkeley watching the Warriors game, getting ready to go out to dinner to celebrate my brother's 28th birthday. We have swiftly and gracefully made the transition from TJ's to SJ's and its not too shabby.

While we have found four amazing subjects for our film as well as secured a significant amount of financial contributions, some vital details are still up in the air. Between restrictive contracts and a need for some serious synchronization, Three Cities has plenty to work with.

We are also in the process of putting together a promotional video for Lone Soldiers that will not only be a preview of some of the footage in the actual film but will provide a nice insight into what exactly we were doing on our month-long adventure in Israel earlier this year. Before the end of March, our website should be the home to several new videos; not just our trailer but also some shorts from the footage we gathered. The picture you see to the left is a snapshot of a video you will soon see about an afternoon we spent in Mea Shearim, Jerusalem. .

In less than a week, Three Cities will reunite in Berkeley and continue pluggin to get you that look at the first official footage of Lone Soldiers.

-Tamir

Open Call to All Musicians

This is an invitation to have your music be a part of Lone Soldiers. We are currently looking for all types of music, preferably with minimal vocals. If you, or any friends, are interested in supporting this film while getting exposure for the music that you make, contact us! You will certainly get recognition in the credits of the film.

We are already working out a deal with Universal to use a song by Marc Broussard from Island Def Jam and have several other good tracks on the ballot, so you will be in good company. Again, if you or anyone you know has good, original music PLEASE send it in or contact us......

Let the games begin

The Plug

Well well. What do we have here? Three Cities finally writing another blog entry. As most of you have probably noticed by now, we have completed our Lone Soldiers promo video and began spreading around the world. To date, all continents except Australia & Antarctica have tuned in to watch our promo video. If we could just inspire some Aussies and some polar bears, we could finally consider ourselves worldwides.

We are anxiously awaiting our return to Israel. It feels very reassuring to know that things are somewhat in place for us upon our arrival. Yaniv (our Brazilian subject), Joakim (our French subject), and Yoni (our American subject) have all received notice from the IDF that they will be drafted this Summer. This is a very exciting and relieving development because the timing of this whole operation has been our biggest and most intimidating obstacle.

As for now, we are putting our efforts towards fundraising as well as some other small video projects which will find their homes on our website, and some which are already up. Our most recent project, a 15-minute documentary called 'Under the Black Hat' will soon be submitted to several film festivals and has already been invited to be aired on KCCC in the bay area. We will keep you posted as to when exactly that will occur.

The much awaited 3Cities mailing list will be started very soon, e-mail us if you are interested in receiving our monthly newsletters..

Good Shabbos

Coffee Break

Tamir is in Oregon about to have a big time meeting up in the Rose City. (Portland) I am in sunny Los Angeles typing away at my computer. Trying to find the next lead in our quest for financial stability is quite a task, and one that has led to the steady increase of my tolerance to coffee. I have developed a system where I brew a nice big pot of coffee in the morning, and help myself to about 2-3 cups of steaming hot brew to wake me up. Then, around 2 in the afternoon, the coffee has become room temperature. It is at this point that I add a few ice cubes and some whole milk, and help myself to a delicious glass of iced coffee. It is a system I am very proud of, and one that allows me to hunt down potential donors like an experienced Bedouin tracker. That’s basically where Three Cities is at these days. Trying to get people so excited about our film that they want to contribute financially. It is a somewhat difficult task, but something we are confident will work out in the end. In other news, I have secured a ticket to Israel courtesy of Birthright. Tamir is still working on his flight plans, but if everything goes according to plan Three Cities should be up and running in Tel Aviv by The 1st of July. Our days of being SJ’s (stationary journalists) are limited...

Three Cities in the News

Israel's 'lone soldiers' topic for documentary filmmakers

Portland Jewish Review, May 1

ELTERMAN

A casual encounter with a friend has led to the launch of a new film project about diaspora Jews with no concrete links to Israel who enlist in the Israel Defense Force.

"Lone Soldiers" is the title co-producers Tamir Elterman and David Alexander chose for a film currently in production about such individuals.

Elterman was in Portland in April. His non-profit production company, Three Cities Productions, is looking for some angels to help complete the project.

"A good friend from college was sitting in a bar with me," Elterman said. "He said he was going to join the IDF. It struck David and me as interesting."

The pair did a little research and found that lone soldiers in Israel are "an international thing," they come from many countries to defend Israel.

The Washington Post's Molly Moore reported on the death of one such soldier last summer and gave national exposure to the term that describes them.

IDF Staff Sgt. Michael Levin of Philadelphia was killed Aug. 1 in Lebanon.

"In life, Levin was considered a 'lone soldier'—the melancholy moniker Israel gives foreign-born soldiers who come to the country without their families, often with the sole purpose of serving in the military," wrote Moore.

Elterman said lone soldiers choose their path for various reasons including strong pro-Israel inclinations, a desire to follow in a relative's footsteps or simply for adventure.

He said there are 4,000-6,000 lone soldiers serving in Israel at any given time.

Elterman and Alexander posted inquiries on the Internet to locate individuals in America who were planning on going to Israel to enlist in the IDF.

The two filmmakers hope that their film will shed light on the relationship between diaspora Jews and the state of Israel.

Some others share their hope. The Israeli Consulate in New York, the IDF, the aliyah group Nefesh B' Nefesh, among others, have leant their support to the project.

Persons wanting to help make the project a reality can view a four-minute trailer for the film online at http://www.three-cities.org.

One may make an online donation at the same Web address.

link to the article by Paul Haist: http://www.jewishreview.org/Archives/Article.php?Article=2007-05-01-3257

Informational Night/ First Foot in Israel

Well the 3Cities train just keeps on chugging.

Last Monday night, Tamir held an ‘informational night’ at Portland State University which was open to the community in which he spoke at length about the project, showed some videos, and opened some discussion. This marked the inaugural formal event surrounding the Lone Soldiers documentary, and what we hope to be the first of many. About 30 people from the Portland community came out to learn about the film, and we received an impressive and touching amount of support. There are two possible similar events to take place in the Bay Area in the next month, both of which will be clearly publicized on our website and in a newsletter.

David was unable to co-host as he is in Jerusalem enjoying his opportunity to tour the country on Birthright. The beginning of an estimated 8-month journey has begun this week as he explores a fruitful land of garlicky hummus, aggressive drivers, and foreign sounding syllables. Tamir will meet him shortly, as he arrives on the next Nefesh B’Nefesh flight leaving early July.

As for the creative side of the venture, we have posted two new videos for our visitors to enjoy. From entering a Mexican Jewish Oakland-based artist’s studio, to exploring the lives of NYC subway station performers, we hope you will enjoy some more of the Three Cities style videos that we are mildly famous for.

We're Back..

And here to stay...

Things are looking good for 3cities despite our financial woes. Tamir landed at Ben-Gurion airport just three days ago where Dave was there to meet him with open arms and a pocket full of hummus. Like a recovering alcoholic, we immediately got back on the wagon and returned to Ben-Gurion the very next day to film Yaniv’s arrival in Israel after almost two months in Brazil with his girlfriend, daughter, and parents. His departure did not go undocumented either, as our Brazilian counterparts Rio Taruma Produções were there to see him off and film the emotional goodbyes. No doubt this will be a crucial cinderblock in the foundation of our movie.

We are getting accustomed to life as Israelis know it. Tamir purchased a second, possibly third-hand narcoleptic Pelefone which constantly flutters between ‘On’ and ‘Off’. Very quickly did we learn that contracts in Hebrew are not necessarily legally binding and it is rude not to cut in line. On a more serious note, this afternoon we were cut in line at the post office by an elderly woman who we soon learned to be a Holocaust survivor. It was an extremely powerful experience and one that left both of us speechless and dumbfounded. We left that post office with a different appreciation of what it means to be Israel.

With that, we must head to the Yam (ocean) before the meduzot (jellyfish) take over…

Shabbat Shalom

Lechayiim

First VLOG from Israel!

We brought in Shabbat with our good friend/lone soldier Steve, as well as our newest Brazilian friend, and future lone soldier Yaniv. Before we hit the city, we poured ourselves some drinks, and Steve made quite a memorable toast. What follows is our first attempt at a video-blog. Enjoy!