Ben Shani

Artist Eli Shamir paints the view from his studio balcony - fields stretching to the horizon, ancient oak trees, and a generation of farmers that is disappearing from the vistas of the Jezreel Valley. His large oils are treasured by collectors worldwide. It was director Ben Shani's encounter with one of Shamir's works that spawned the idea of documenting the artist at work. Neither of them had any idea that everything would change as the filming progressed, as an unforeseen danger threatened to rob Shamir of his talent. Filmed over the course of ten years, A lullaby for the Valley focuses on the fascinating figure of Eli Shamir and his paintings. As time passes, like the endless fields of the valley, they are transformed before our very eyes.

The news reports of Moti Kirschenbaum, whose immeasurable contribution to Israeli media still resonates to the present day, were broadcast over four decades on Israeli television. Over the years, many journalists considered him a beacon and followed in his footsteps. One such journalist, Ben Shani, proposed that he and Kirschenbaum set out on a journey in the footsteps of those mythological reports. Moti immediately agreed. No-one knew then that his days were numbered and that he would die suddenly, just before shooting was to start. The journey planned for two became one man's journey through the many stages in Kirschenbaum's life