Ben-Gurion, Epilogue

(Yariv Mozer, Israel/France 2016, 70 min., DCP, English and Hebrew w/subtitles)

Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. In never-before-seen footage, the then 82-year-old former prime minister is interviewed at his secluded desert home over the course of several days in 1968. An introspective David Ben-Gurion reflects on the loss of his wife, his personal health and political legacy, and his hopes for Middle East peace. Languishing for decades, the reels of silent footage were inadvertently uncovered in the Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive in Jerusalem, with the corresponding soundtrack later found in the Ben-Gurion Archives in the Negev. The restored interview is interwoven with newsreels and other archival materials, including images of the unassuming elder statesman’s charmingly simple kibbutz life taking daily strolls and working the farmlands. Offering hindsight on the Zionist enterprise, Ben-Gurion, Epilogue is a work of undeniable historical significance with prophetic implications for Israel’s future. 

Tickets & info: rjff.org/festival-information