Exiled to Homeland: Arabic Music, Jewish Musicians in Israel – A Double Feature “TAQASIM” & “A VOICE WITHOUT A FACE” June 4, 2007

Mon, June 4, 7:30 pm
Exiled to Homeland: Arabic Music, Jewish Musicians in Israel – A Double Feature
“TAQASIM” & “A VOICE WITHOUT A FACE”
Aaron and Cecile Goldman Theater
1529 16th Street NW (16th & Q)
Advance Tickets: Non-Member: $8.50 * Member, Senior, Student Price: $7
At the Door: Non-Member: $10 * Member, Senior, Student Price: $9

In 1950s Israel, the wave of immigrants from Arab countries brought with it a bloc of professional musicians, virtuosos of Arabic music. In Israel, their reversal of fortune was even more dramatic than that of the average immigrant. These two documentary films follow similar but distinct quests to recover the musical legacy of these artists, unearthing the stories of the musicians who had to rebuild their lives. In Taqasim (1999, video, 43 minutes, Hebrew, French and Arabic with subtitles, Director: Duki Dror), Felix Mizrachi returns to Cairo seeking lost recordings by his older brother Farag and to remember a time when Arabs and Jews coexisted in harmony. Felix’s friend and band mate Yitzhak Basson took a more unusual path after emigrating from Iraq. In A Voice Without A Face (2005, video, 52 minutes, Hebrew and Arabic with subtitles, Director: Assaf Basson), we learn of Basson’s double life as a Mossad agent and faceless singer with the stage name Magdi—who performed only on radio to protect his identity. His son Assaf, narrator and filmmaker, struggles to understand the contradictions of his complex father who loved singing above all else, all-the-while leading multiple clandestine lives.

Presented in cooperation with the J’s Screening Room

TICKETS/INFO

Festival Tickets: Purchase tickets in advance at (800) 494-TIXS or www.wjmf.org. Tickets for Rita ONLY are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets go on sale for JCC members on Thursday, May 3, and for the general public on Monday, May 7. Same-day tickets are available for purchase on-site starting one hour before the event, subject to availability. All ticket sales are final. JCC members, students with ID, persons under 25, seniors over 65 and groups of eight or more may purchase tickets at discounted rates when applicable.

Ticket Prices: Range from free - $75.
Festival Passport: M/NM: $70/$100 -- ensures entry to all Festival programs. Purchase your Festival Passport by calling (800) 494-TIXS or at www.wjmf.org, and attend as many Festival events as you like for one low price—a savings of 40% on individual ticket prices. The Festival Passport includes General Admission tickets to The Klezmatics and Upper Balcony tickets to Rita. If you would like to upgrade, please contact (202) 777-3250 or [email protected].

Seating: All events are general admission except Opening Night and Closing Night. Reserved seating is available for patrons with special needs. Please call (202) 777-3250 or email [email protected] for assistance

For Information: 202-777-3250 or www.wjmf.org.

Venues: Please check www.wjmf.org for all locations.

THE WASHINGTON JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVAL IS PRESENTED BY
THE WASHINGTON DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER'S
MORRIS CAFRITZ CENTER FOR THE ARTS.

The Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation is the major sponsor of the Eighth Annual Washington Jewish Music Festival. The Festival is supported, in part, by grants from the United Jewish Endowment Fund, The Jewish Federation’s Israel in DC initiative and the Humanities Council of Washington, DC. The Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts is supported by a grant from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, and receives support from the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

Official Website: http://www.wjmf.org