- All cinematheque content is available indefinitely
- Discounted rates apply to guest content
Helmer Lerski’s 1935 documentary, one of Zionist cinema’s most impressive and prominent pieces of propaganda triumph, chronicles the Diaspora Jew’s arrival at his ancestral home, and the birth of the “New Jew” in the Land of Israel. Pioneering Zionist labour – be it physical or psychological – is a fundamental, primary ethos at the very heart of the New Jew’s image.
Before immigrating to then-Palestine in the early 1930s, Helmar Lerski had already established a reputation for himself as a prominent photographer and cinematographer in his native Germany. He even shot several of the films that would become the cornerstones of German Expressionist Cinema, including Paul Lenny’s WAX DOLL CABINET. Lerski was one of Fritz Lang’s team of five cinematographers who had worked on his iconic film, METROPOLIS.
WORK, which treads the fine line between documentary and fiction, articulates Zionism’s official set of values, however, it breaks from the majority of local films made at the time with its abstract aesthetics, showcasing avant-garde cinema influences and in particular, echoes of Soviet Montage films. The original film score was penned by modernist composer Paul Dessau (who had worked with Brecht, among others) and is considered a milestone in the field of Israeli film scoring.
We recommend that you view the website in vertical mode.
An e-mail was sent to you. To recover the password, click on the link.
There is a problem to recover the password, please try again.
This option is only available to registered users.
Registration is free and recommended for everyone – Registered users can save and rate films, write and share personal reviews, and lots more.
Orphaned Work Disclaimer
All rights are reserved to the Jerusalem Cinematheque – Israeli Film Archive (RA) and the rights holders of the works. Any use of works on the website for non-individual and non-personal purposes is strictly prohibited without prior, written permission.
For more information about the rights holders, please visit the relevant collection page, or contact the Jerusalem Cinematheque – Israeli Film Archive (RA) offices.
We have the utmost respect for all rights holders’ copyright and put great efforts to track down any and all intellectual property owners for the purpose of seeking and obtaining permission to use their materials featured on the website.
Any and all materials are used in accordance with clause 27a of the 2007 Copyright Act. If you believe that your rights as intellectual property and copyright owners of any material featured on this website have been compromised, then you may contact the Israeli Film Archive via email with a cease-and-desist notice, requesting that the material in alleged copyright infringement no longer be used. When contacting the archive, please state the merit to your copyright ownership claim, as well as your full name, email address, and telephone number, with a link to the relevant webpage.
Standard Work Disclaimer
All rights are reserved to the Jerusalem Cinematheque – Israeli Film Archive (RA) and the rights holders of the works. Any use of works on the website for non-individual and non-personal purposes is strictly prohibited without prior, written permission.
For more information about the rights holders, please visit the relevant collection page, or contact the Jerusalem Cinematheque – Israeli Film Archive (RA) offices.
We have the utmost respect for all rights holders’ copyright and put great efforts to track down any and all intellectual property owners for the purpose of seeking and obtaining permission to use their materials featured on the website.
Any and all materials are used in accordance with clause 27a of the 2007 Copyright Act. If you believe that your rights as intellectual property and copyright owners of any material featured on this website have been compromised, then you may contact the Israeli Film Archive via email with a cease-and-desist notice, requesting that the material in alleged copyright infringement no longer be used. When contacting the archive, please state the merit to your copyright ownership claim, as well as your full name, email address, and telephone number, with a link to the relevant webpage.
This will close in 0 seconds