SYNOPSIS:

‘THE TRIBE’ is a portrait of a family whose roots stretch back into Eastern Europe, but whose destiny became synonymous with that of Jerusalem to which they immigrated nearly 200 years ago. The story of this extended family as a microcosm of the Jewish saga from 1550 in Eastern Europe to their arrival in Jerusalem all comes together through the vehicle of the Reunion.  

Two thousand five hundred of the tribe’s 10,000 family members gathered in Jerusalem’s main conference center to celebrate their ancestor’s arrival in Palestine, and, to celebrate each other.

‘THE TRIBE’ documents the coming together of the widely spread branches of one of the largest Jewish families in the world. It was the first reunion in four decades, and the biggest ever held.  Filmmaker, Lilly Rivlin, a member of the tribe, journeys back to Jerusalem and records the reunion.  She interviews family members.  Through the lives and personal anecdotes of diverse members of this tribe the history of modern Jerusalem emerges in the context of 500 years of family history. Ancestors come alive as Rivlin explores lineage and tribal memories. Continuity in an atomized world is the backdrop for the ever-present question: what made this tribe come together?

STATEMENT: 
The goal was to use the occasion of the Rivlin family reunion to establish the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and show the family’s history going back five hundred years to Eastern Europe. Most of the family members left Eastern Europe for Palestine, Britain and the U.S .in the 19th century.  This is the reason they survived and multiplied. After seeing the film holocaust survivors in the audience have told the filmmaker, “You have given me back my family.”  The Tribe has become a classic over the years, a microcosm of Ashkenazi Jewish families; it fills a gap in Jewish history and strikes an emotional core in many.  As one reviewer wrote, ‘THE TRIBE’ is an upbeat satisfying odyssey all of us can share, and a party to which we are all invited.

LENGTH:
A 38 Min. 16mm documentary.
LILLY RIVLIN is a seventh generation Jerusalemite.  She trained as a political scientist, has worked as a journalist, writer/filmmaker and foundation consultant for the last 35 years both internationally and in the U.S.  Her areas of expertise encompass International Affairs, Middle East Politics (Palestinian/Israeli/Jewish history) Jewish subject matter, Gender and Social policy issues.
Her credits include writer/director/producer of GIMME A KISS, THE TRIBE and MIRIAM'S DAUGHTER'S NOW shown on PBS, international TV. (Israel and Italy) and film festivals. Other credits include WE’RE STILL HERE! - The Jews of Russia and Ukraine, Associate Producer, EXPULSION AND MEMORY, a Canadian production about the Secret Jews, FULL CIRCLE, a film about women on kibbutzim; Associate Producer/writer/researcher of IF NOT NOW WHEN, PEACE NOW, (1988); producer/interviewer of several segments of Israel TV’s 18-part series on the history of Zionism, PILLARS OF FIRE.  Rivlin developed a 13-part series, THE JEWS for David Putnam and Sandy Liebersohn in London.  Her consultant, research and interview credits include ISRAEL: A NATION IS BORN, a 5-part series on Israel with Abba Eban (1990) and JEWS & THE DIASPORA, a BBC film.  

TOVA BARTH, editor, THE TRIBE, is a veteran film editor who has worked on features, documentaries and for TV both in the U.S. and Israel.  Now living in Israel, Barth stopped hands on editing when the industry shifted to video.  Currently she works mainly in a supervisory capacity, remaining faithful to her one true love, film. 

CREDITS:

Produced, Written, and Directed by Lilly Rivlin

Photography.......................................	Jonathan David

Assistant Camera...............................	Jova Kosh
		Darius Wolski

Assistant Director..............................	Florie Brizel

Editor..................................................	Tova Barth

Assistant to Producer..........................	Elizabeth Sherman

Production Managers..........................	Nomi Miller,
Rivi Oppenheim
					         	Vardit Bakal

Original Music.....................................	Dr. Alex Rivlin

Sound..................................................	Danny Natovich, 
        	Alvin Krinksy
					         	John Fodor

Sound Mix..........................................		Peter Page

Additional Camera..............................	Benny Barzel
						Yosh Bar-Nachum
						Mark Benjamin
						David Braman
						Eitan Harris

Additional Narration...........................	Dov Izraeli 
						Jerry Koenig 

Currently, ‘THE TRIBE’ is recorded on a CRI 16mm with a separate audio track. It has been verified that this film has all the elements that are needed in order to start the archival process. The negative is in good condition in regards to the color not shifting and the amount of scratches it contains. The film does need cleaning.  ‘Moving Image’ informed us that the film is in excellent condition for its age.  Professional advice is that the film be transferred to an interpositive, and then transferred again to both a duplicate negative and a Digi-beta for preservation.

‘THE TRIBE’ has been called a classic.  It is a unique story of a Jewish family that survived, multiplied, and flourished.  The film captures a historical moment in which 2,500 members of one extended family come together to celebrate.   The filmmaker weaves the present and the past telling a tale of ‘the-largest- intact Jewish family as a microcosm of Jewish history. The family’s milestones are coterminous with critical moments in Jewish history: the first Rivlin arrives in Jerusalem in 1809; in 1848 members of The Tribe move outside the Old City walls into what is today modern Jewish Jerusalem; one family member tells of a time during World War II when German General Rommel was in Egypt, and worried Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem offered each other the protection of their homes; 1947-48, the matriarch of the family describes surviving the siege of Jerusalem; a family member describes the end of the 1967 war and arrival at The Wall.  

 ‘THE TRIBE’ was first screened at MOMA in 1984 and was hailed as the first film to popularize genealogy and the search for roots.  Arthur Cantor distributed it for many years until his death.  The National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University, the largest distributor of Jewish films in the U.S. would like to distribute it now.

‘THE TRIBE’S’ symbolic meaning goes beyond its historical significance presenting a Jewish family with roots dating back 500 years.  There is a family tree with 4000 names on it.  The film’s narrative shows family writ large, it shows diversity and for a moment in time, it becomes a celebration of unity. 

We feel privileged to have brought together a team of committed people who want to be part of this project of saving and restoring an independent film that documents a unique event within a unique family history. 

Cineric Inc. the industry's leading film restoration and preservation facility’ will be involved in the entire process of restoring the film. They will implement both traditional photochemical techniques as well as the latest digital technology in the effort to restore and preserve this film. 

‘THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR JEWISH FILM’ at Brandeis University will be storing the interpositive and the duplicates of this negative in pristine cold, dry archival film storage.

Overseeing this project is Laura Lim, a graduate from New York University’s Tisch School of film and television. Her experience in film and television projects range from pre-production to post-production. She has worked with MTV: News and Docs, TLC- Discovery, and the History Channel.  Laura has coordinated our research on Restoration with ‘Moving Image,’ ‘Duarte Films, and ‘Cineric’ to determine the quality and the steps required to restore ‘The Tribe’ for archival and distribution purposes.

The plan is to distribute the film through ‘THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR JEWISH FILM, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY.’  They would have world rights for distribution, for all markets in the United States.  We plan on sending ‘THE TRIBE’ through the film festival circuit specific to its Genre and related themes, i.e. Jewish History, family genealogy, and films made by women.

Our estimated budget is fifteen thousand, two hundred and thirteen dollars for preserving and re-mastering ‘The Tribe’. We are looking to fundraise and receive in-kind donations from foundations, individuals, and organizations. 

We have already received two thousand – two hundred and fifty dollars in kind donations from the staff, so the remaining funds needed would be eleven thousand, five hundred and eighty dollars.

With the ten thousand dollar grant from ‘The Women’s Film Preservation Fund’ and distribution from ‘The National Center for Jewish Film’, we will be able to preserve and digitally re-master the film.