Museum Cinema / A Special Double Screening / Faces of November, 1963 & Medium Cool, 1969 →

Two landmark films in the history of American cinema offer distinct perspectives on the power of the camera. The screenings accompany the exhibition Alex Levac: Black Box. Like the films’ directors, Levac turns his camera toward the intersection of individual lives and broader social and political realities. His photographs move between historic moments and everyday street scenes, irony and empathy, inviting reconsideration of the boundaries between photojournalism and artistic expression, and between observing reality and intervening in it.

Faces of November (USA, 1963), directed by Robert Drew, is a 12-minute film without dialogue or narration. Through intimate observations of mourners at the funeral of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, it captures a dark and haunting moment in American history. The mourners’ faces convey the depth of private grief following the assassination. Commissioned by ABC News, the film was ultimately not broadcast because of its unconventional form and running time. It went on to win first prizes in two categories at the Venice Film Festival.

Medium Cool (USA, 1969), directed and photographed by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler, runs 111 minutes and is in English with Hebrew subtitles. Robert Forster plays John Cassellis, a cynical television news cameraman who discovers that his network has secretly supplied his footage to the FBI to surveil political suspects. After objecting, he loses his job and is drawn into the violence and political unrest surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The cast also includes Verna Bloom and Peter Bonerz.

Wexler combines staged scenes with documentary footage of clashes during protests against the Vietnam War and amid rising racial tensions. By placing fictional characters within unfolding historical events, the film blurs the boundary between fiction and documentary. The film introductions will be in Hebrew. Participation is limited, and advance reservations are required for all participants.