Women rule shadowy world of ultra-Orthodox cinema
Popular ultra-Orthodox movies, created by ultra-Orthodox women for all-female audiences and screened for only two weeks each year, are still not conservative enough to maintain the entire sector's support.
Twice a year, during the holidays of Passover and Sukkot, the public bulletin boards that line Israel’s ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods undergo a dramatic transformation. A colorful, eye-catching set of posters pops up alongside the ubiquitous black-and-white death notices. These posters announce special screenings of a wide range of films over the course of the two weeklong holidays. The mainstream ultra-Orthodox press also promotes these films, which are shown in municipal community centers, synagogue halls and schools.
These films are unique in Israel, and perhaps the entire world. The cast consists entirely of women, as does the audience, and the writing and directing is almost completely done by women, too. The plots do not deal with tangled romances or crime. They are mostly family and historical dramas or comedies of various sorts.
