| Campfire | |
| Native Name: | |
| Director: | Joseph Cedar |
| Producer: | David Mandil Eyal Shiray |
| Starring: | Michaela Eshet Hani Furstenberg Moshe Ivgy Maya Maron |
| Music: | Ofer Shalhin |
| Cinematography: | Ofer Inov |
| Editing: | Einat Glaser-Zarhin |
| Distributor: | Film Movement |
| Runtime: | 96 minutes |
| Country: | Israel |
| Language: | Hebrew English |
| Gross: | $34,835 (U.S. domestic)[1] |
Campfire (he|מדורת השבט|Medurat Ha-Shevet,) is a 2004 Israeli film written and directed by Joseph Cedar. Set in 1981, the film focuses on a woman seeking to join an Israeli settlement on the West Bank, despite the protests of her teenage daughters.[2]
The film premiered at the 54th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2004.[3] The film won five Israeli Academy Awards and was Israel's official submission for the 77th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category (but did not get a nomination). The film was well received in Israel, the United States, and in international film festivals.[4]
The story of a young widow, mother of two beautiful teenage daughters, who wants to join the founding group of a new settlement of religious Jews in the West Bank, but first must convince the acceptance committee that she is worthy. Things get complicated when the younger daughter is sexually abused by boys from her youth movement.
The film explores the tension between values and convenience as motivations for settlement and romantic relationships within the Religious Zionist community. The core group scrutinizes anyone seeking to join, perhaps out of concern for the settlement's future or perhaps out of selfishness to exclude those who might rely on others for help. The group pressures Rachel to marry a well-known cantor, Moshe Weinstock, a spoiled and self-centered man. His behavior contrasts sharply with the values of Religious Zionism, as depicted in the film shown to the Bnei Akiva youth group—Operation Yonatan, starring Yehoram Gaon.