Israel through Cape Town eyes

CARYN GOOTKIN

I’ve just watched “Our Story, Their Reality”, a video produced by these three Cape Town-based friends for the 2017 Israel Video Network’s “Inspired by Israel” competition, (sponsored by the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation in partnership with the 12Tribe Films Foundation).

Their clever concept and inspired production – the video uses the beauty of Cape Town, their physical home, as a backdrop to a message about the connection South African Jews have with Israel – earned them a place in the top 20 of this international competition.

“I’ve known Dorin and Chad for years and we all come from creative backgrounds,” says Daniel. “My mom entered me into the competition and I asked them to collaborate with me to make a video about what inspires us about Israel as South African Jews.

“We spent a good couple of days shooting,” adds Dorin. “It was loads of fun. We shot in different locations in Cape Town, using different methods of filming: drone, GoPro, Oslo and standard camera.

“We all worked very hard, each contributing in the area we knew best,” says Chad.

Chad Justin Nathan matriculated from King David Victory Park in 2011 and worked in a bar in Tel Aviv for some of his gap year before completing a B Com at University of Johannesburg.

“I hated it and moved to Cape Town the minute I graduated,” he says. An honours in strategic brand management at Vega awoke his passion for photo and film. And armed with a GoPro, he started experimenting.

“When he could see I was getting good at it, my dad bought me a proper camera,” says Chad, who goes by the Instagram name @GingerwithaGoPro.

With vision and an eye for beauty, this young entrepreneur has already started his own digital marketing company specialising in social media management.

Johannesburg-born Daniel Navarro is now a fifth year UCT quantity surveying honours student, but that hasn’t stopped him launching his own business. He started his business dealing with social media management, content creating and photography, about a year ago.

Johannesburg-born but Cape Town-bred, Dorin Braun, studied sound engineering before completing a B Com finance degree. A music producer and artist in his own right, who has one album out and another on the way, Dorin uses the stage name (DSB). “Music is my proper passion; it’s in my blood,” he says.

The trio each feel a strong connection to Israel. “We have friends and family in Israel, some who’ve gone to the IDF,” says Daniel. “As Jews we know Israel is our homeland and we always feel welcome to visit.”

Working on the video helped Dorin experience what Israel means to him. “I love that we got to show people that we’re proud South African Jews,” he says. “I’ve learned so much about how to deal with people from being Jewish, especially in our diverse country. I’ve seen and been a target of anti-Semitism and had many debates about Israel. The material we’ve created gives us – and others – a strong leg to stand on.”

Chad went on Shorashim in grade 10 and has been back to Israel several times. “I’m making my way back there in a month for a wedding. It’s one of my favourite places in the world – I just have such a strong connection to that place.” Chad plans to move back and work in Israel again. “There is so much opportunity there.”

While the trio believed their entry was good enough to earn them a place in the top five, the international voting system worked against them. “The main prize would have been great but for me it is not really about the prize,” says Dorin. “We’re still going to use this video to create awareness and show people that Israel isn’t just about what you see in the news – it’s a great country with great people.”

Chad says they were upset that it came down to the number of votes a video got. “We deserved to be in the top five. Our video was a beautiful production about why Jewish South Africans have this deep love for Israel. Why do our friends go and fight in the Israeli army when they wouldn’t fight in the South African army?”

“Although our video didn’t win, it allowed us to come together as creatives with different backgrounds in sound engineering, photography, videography and social media marketing, to create a beautiful video encapsulating the connection we Jews have to Israel, no matter where in the world we live,” says Daniel.

These three young Jewish South African Zionists are making waves in the fast-paced world of social media and multi-media production. And they aren’t afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Now that’s a winning combination! 

Watch the video at: http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/our-story-their-reality/