Avi Mograbi believes that the month of August serves as a metaphor for whatever is hateful in the state of Israel. His wife, on the other hand, is rather fond of August, which represents to her all that is optimistic. And indeed, the filmmaker goes out to the street, and on one hand loses control over what is captured by his camera. Yet, on the other hand, he miraculously tells, by his failure to fulfill his mission and document what he was after, that very story, though in a totally different way from what he planned and without being aware of it at all. At the same time, in his home, his wife is taken captive by the producer of another film. This filmmaker is involved with a film concerning the massacre of tens of praying Moslem prayers by an Israeli physician in the cave of Machpela in the occupied town of Hebron in 1994. All three characters - the filmmaker, the filmmaker’s wife and the producer – are played by one person: Avi Mograbi. “The idea behind August was very similar to the one proposed in the film by the filmmaker’s wife: to make a film that would consist solely of violence, bickering, and anger. Just that. This is Israel, wherever you go, everything is fraught with violence.“ Avi Mograbi [aus dem Forumprogramm]

1 How would you describe the aesthetics of your film?

rough

2 Why did you choose to shoot on dv?

I have no other choise both artistically and financially.

3 What was special about shooting in dv (e.g.compared to 35mm, was it your first time with dv or are you used to it)?

I never shot 35mm, for me dv is an extention of my eye/arm, it enables me to be a one-man-unit

4 Which camera and which editing software did you use?

PD-150 and Adobe-Premiere

5 What was your shoot-edit ratio?

1:80

6 Would you have preferred to shoot in another format? If so which?

NO, maybe yes - 16mm Bolex with a spring

7 Does using dv mean that you are considering other means of distribution opposing the established? If so which?

no

8 One good word about dv (or two):

it allows horrible cameramen like myself shoot a film

9 One bad word about dv (or two):

it allows horrible cameramen like myself shoot a film