Who are we first: our society, our families or ourselves? How do I fit in? What does it mean to be family? How am I shaped by history and fate? How do we reconcile our past and present with the future. These are questions and situations we can all identify with.

Storyville is the home for filmmaker-driven creative documentaries on Knowledge. This marks the Canadian debut for many of these films.

Building on this sense of Identity, a collection of ten documentaries was curated by our own Rudy Buttignol, President and CEO of Knowledge Network. Having worked as a writer, director, producer, and documentary film advisor around the world, from Berlin to Bangladesh, Rudy discovered that no matter where they were from, filmmakers face similar challenges and issues.

CoPro: The Israel Documentary Screen Market

For over a decade, Rudy has been attending The Annual Co-Productions pitching forum, part of CoPro: The Israel Documentary Screen Market, and has given a great deal of support and international attention to independent filmmakers in Israel. "It chose me. I was invited to participate in the second year of CoPro," states Rudy when asked why he chose Israel. "It was a chance to visit the Middle East for the first time. Because of its historic connection to Western civilization, it was on my must-see of world destinations."

Taking inspiration from an article by Raya Morag (a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem), 'Current Israeli Documentary Cinema', Knowledge Network puts a spotlight on the diverse group of independent filmmakers in Israel.

"The sense of identity is paramount in Israel. It seems to shape everything. In my view, it is difficult, if not impossible, to understand that identity without the Holocaust on one end and the ‘conflict’ with Palestinians on the other. At the same time, most people are concerned with the same daily trials and tribulations of life as everyone else," states Rudy.

The idea was to focus first on the stories. They reflect the epic as well as the prosaic. The themes are universal. This collection showcases Israel's independent filmmakers pursuing their personal passions, and demonstrates that independent voices can still flourish in the most challenging of circumstances.

Storyville is the home for filmmaker-driven creative documentaries on Knowledge, and this marks the Canadian debut for many of these films.

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