Ethics, and Svia…

“What will your film be about?” a kibbutznik asks us. After giving him a brief summary of our idea and what we have filmed so far, he pauses momentarily with a quizzical look on his face. “You must show a well rounded view of the kibbutz… do not make it look bad,” he warns us. He then proceeds to tell us about all the different community members we have to interview, and all the wonderful aspects of kibbutz life we have to capture. We nod and smile politely, promising to talk to so-and-so and what’s-his-name. After he leaves, we look at each other and say, “this place will go up in flames after people see this film.”

This kibbutznik is fictitious, a representation of the many community members who have voiced their concerns about our work. When we tell them that we have focused on issues of employment, conflicts among members or that we have filmed Svia (who we will get to in a moment), they instantly become worried that we are focusing on all the wrong things. “You must show the good things here,” they plead. All have the right to be concerned about how the kibbutz will be portrayed to outsiders. Afterall, it is their home. But how to fairly document the place they hold so dear is one of our greatest challenges.

We have the privilege of being outsiders, untouched by the politics, conflicts, commitments and bias of being a kibbutz member. Our choice of who and what to film is not influenced by any greater power or agenda to portray the kibbutz in a certain way. But in being an outsider, we cannot possibly understand every aspect of this place. Nor can we document every member’s varying experience. Our goal is not to find the “truth” (if that even exists), but rather to tell a story of some kibbutz inhabitants. Kibbutzniks who see the film might not agree with the opinions of the characters we’ve chosen, and might get upset. We are beginning to realize that this is inevitable.

We became especially concerned about this after witnessing their response to another film about a kibbutz, “Crazy Land,” which was aired one evening in the community center. Even though the film was fiction, many of the kibbutz members who saw it said that they were “hurt” by its “innacurate” portrayal of kibbutz life. We were amazed by their response to the film. It was as if the filmmaker had done the kibbutzniks an injustice. Might we do the same?

We have filmed a great deal of positive and wonderful things about the kibbutz. Children playing near the kid’s house, Frankie inviting his friends and neighbors over for a BBQ, and families coming together to eat at the dining room on Shabbat, are just a few. But we have also filmed alot of frustration, unhappiness and unusual aspects of life in the community. We remain uncertain of how to document reality, even wary of our efforts to do so, especially if our portrayal of the kibbutz includes more bad than good.

One day we filmed part of a community planning meeting. Uri (the community manager) invited us to film the gathering, and no one at the meeting appeared to mind our presence. After the meeting, we went around asking people to sign release forms. One woman said she would sign, but only under the condition that we exclude a certain part of the meeting, and that she could review the tape before we use it. We were confused by her effort to keep parts of the meeting secret. Shouldn’t it be open to the public? We want to film more meetings, especially those having to do with our characters’ lives: Frankie’s job, Yoram’s boss, or Svia. We worry that kibbutzniks’ concerns over our filming will affect our access to such meetings.

Svia

We now have to talk about Svia, Safta’s neighbor who collects (what we deem trash, she deems treasure) on the lawn outside of Safta’s house. The pile becomes larger and larger every day, and she is quite protective of it. When Safta placed a sprinkler near the pile, Svia became very upset that her belongings were getting wet. They argue regularly about Svia’s habits, including her washing of clothes in a bucket outside. “What people do inside, I do outside,” she says.

Another trash pile rests outside of the library, where Svia had taken up residence for some time. The Kibbutz Secretary (essentially CEO) had removed the stuff, placed it outside of the library, and changed the lock. Svia has since placed a notice explaining that her belongings were illegally removed from the library, and that the action should be considered theft.

She also wears the same clothes every day, and puts food she buys from the cafeteria into little glass containers that she hoards beside these piles. She has claimed that she shares the food and items with “poor people” in Qiryat Shemona. But she mustn’t have shared much because the piles have only grown.

Saturday at sunset we interviewed Svia in her regular location, the bench outside of Safta’s house. The interview was long-winded and tangential to say the least. Of one and half hours of footage, we might have a 30 second usable sound bite. But we learned plenty about relations between Israel and Lebanon. This morning, we filmed the library trash pile including the notice Svia posted beside it. While we were filming, Svia approached us. She said that we were welcome to film, and that we should document the “illegal” activities of the kibbutz (note: this woman is mentally ill, so her statements should not be taken as truth). She then began to explain that she is actively acquiring information on these alleged “illegal activities.” After we questioned whether she was planning to blackmail the kibbutz (something she alluded to in her explanation, and which Tessa noted was also “illegal”), she became noticeably uncomfortable. She later said that she didn’t want her explanation to be included in the film. As we began to leave, her anxiety increased. She asked us where we were going and whether we were reporting her to the Secretary. We hurried away quickly, telling her not to worry, and thinking, “What have we gotten ourselves into!”

We are beginning to realize that our interactions with Svia are making her over-anxious. We do not want to interact with her much further as we think our filming of her might border on exploitive. We remain interested in the fact that she lives like a homeless person even though she is provided a pension, a home, laundry services, and food. We are also curious why Svia’s hoarding habits, which are beginning to take over public spaces, have gone largely un-adressed. We have an appointment on Wednesday with the Kibbutz Secretary. Perhaps she will have a better explanation of the situation.