Directed by Israela Sha’ar Meoded
Documentary Feature
Israel | 2018 | 55 min
In Hebrew, and Arabic
with English subtitles
How does Rabbi Shalom Shabazi, a 17th century Judeo-Arabic rabbinical poet in Yemen, get remixed by Madonna? Who was this Mori (spiritual leader)? While his oeuvre contains over 800 poems, only four biographical details are known. Director and ISEF scholarship recipient Israela Sha’ar Meoded embarks on a playful and imaginative journey in the footsteps of the greatest Yemenite poet, who, 400 years after his birth, is still read and beloved.
Israela Sha’ar Meoded
Israela Shaer-Meoded is a film director and researcher. She directed eight short and feature films. Her films have been shown in festivals in Israel and ‘worldwide and have won prizes. She is a graduate of the MA and MFA (with honors) programs at the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University and holds a BA in Photography from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. She is currently a doctoral student at the School of Cultural Studies at Tel Aviv University focusing on the first women Mizrahi directors in Israeli cinema. She currently takes part in the Narrative Greenhouse Project for Women Filmmakers by the New Israel Foundation for Cinema and Television, where she is writing her first narrative script.