Seminar

Who Is the Seminar Intended For?

The seminar is intended for students in high school film and media studies programs who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of the Arava International Film Festival and the experience of watching quality films under the open sky, while also deepening their understanding of different aspects of using the art of cinema as a means of personal and collective expression.

During the seminar, screenings, encounters, and activities take place at the Sapir Regional Center in the Central Arava and at the Artists’ Village in Tzukim. The program includes films from the festival program, films produced by the local film fund, encounters with filmmakers, and tours of the region.

All these activities are held with an emphasis on becoming acquainted with the unique human and geographical environment of the Arava and exploring the diverse connections between the art of cinema and social and cultural contexts.

Alongside shared and guided exposure to contemporary and classic cinematic works, the seminar encourages its participants, through a series of encounters and workshops, to develop critical thinking that examines the connections between creative processes and the environment in which creation takes place; between life in the periphery and the way it is portrayed in contemporary cinema; and between the choice to live and create in a peripheral environment and the shaping of the narrative of Israeli society.

Films, Encounters with Filmmakers, and Inspirational Processes in the Heart of the Desert

The seminar was founded in 2017 and has taken place every year since, with the exception of one year during the COVID-19 pandemic and one year during the war. It is held as part of the Arava International Film Festival, near the community of Tzukim in the Central Arava.

The seminar combines exposure to contemporary and classic Israeli and international cinema through festival screenings with workshops and encounters focusing on artistic and cinematic creation in an unfamiliar, desert, and peripheral environment.

This combination is based on our artistic and value-based approach, according to which becoming acquainted with cinematic works can and should serve as a means of gaining a deeper understanding of the society of which we are a part, the processes of change it is undergoing, and its cultural, social, and political history and their expression in local and international cinema.

We believe it is important to encourage participants to initiate personal creative processes through exposure to a multitude of voices, colors, and cultural shades, while also deepening their familiarity with different aspects of the art of cinema.

Partners in Educating the Next Generation of Filmmakers

We regard the teachers of high school film studies programs who attend the seminar with their students as full partners in the process of educating the next generation of Israeli filmmakers.

We maintain ongoing working relationships with program coordinators and teachers, and many schools choose to return to the seminar year after year.

2026 High School Seminar

In 2026, the seminar will be held for the tenth time, as part of the 15th edition of the Arava International Film Festival, from November 8 to 12, 2026.

This year, an additional screening venue will be established as part of the festival, enabling us to create a tailored screening program for seminar participants and to deepen the connection between the films, encounters, and workshops and the content and themes addressed by the seminar.