Shtisel-mania set to return

WITH season three in the wings, viewers are invited to a behind the scenes look into Israeli television series, Shtisel, in two upcoming events – both featuring the show’s co-creator and director, Yehonatan Indursky.

On August 5, the award-winning writer and director will provide insights into the making of Shtisel and the background to its success at an online event hosted by the North Eastern Hebrew Congregation, co-sponsored by Zionism Victoria and St Kilda Hebrew Congregation.

Sharing with The AJN how he is “very excited” to engage with Australian fans of his show, Indursky said: “The shooting of the third season started right this week, it’s fascinating for the actors and us, and reminds us that any mask cannot cover the heart. We will talk about everything else very soon.”

Shtisel is set around four generations of a Charedi family living in Jerusalem. It won 11 Ophir awards – Israel’s equivalent of the Emmys – in 2014 including best drama and best original screenplay.

Shtisel stars Doval’e Glickman as family head Shulem, Michael Aloni as his artistic son Akiva, Neta Riskin as Akiva’s sister Giti and Shira Haas – who starred in the hit TV series Unorthodox – as Giti’s teenage daughter Ruchami.

By the time the second series was screened in 2016 it became one of Israel’s most watched series, and with Netflix picking it up in 2018 for international distribution, it has become a worldwide hit. The sneak peek behind-the-scenes will be followed with a Q&A moderated by The AJN‘s features editor, Rebecca Davis.

On July 30 at 8.30pm, Shtisel actress Neta Riskin (Giti Weiss) will join Indursky and Jerusalem-based Charedi feminist activist Pnina Pfeuffer for an enlightening webinar about Israel’s Charedi community.

The discussion will delve into the captivating world created by Indursky and Riskin, alongside the real-life challenges faced by Pfeuffer as she broadens the scope of Charedi politics beyond social and economic challenges to include feminism, equality, and justice.

“Not only will this webinar allow people to get an inside perspective on creating and making the award-winning show, it will also bring to light how Charedim today are challenging their community norms to make meaningful change,” said NIF Australia executive director Liam Getreu.

Register for the North Eastern Hebrew Congregation event (with $6 booking fee) at bit.ly/2AbcL6Y. Register for the NIF event at nif.org.au/shtisel2020.