BALTIMORE - MICA hosts Israeli documentary film director, cinematographer, producer, editor and academic scholar Dan Geva as a Spring 2010 Schusterman Visiting Artist with funding from the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds. This spring, Geva will participate in public film screening events at MICA and with partner organizations in Baltimore as well as teach two classes in a collaborative program between MICA's video and film arts department and the film and media studies program at Johns Hopkins University.

"We are delighted to bring a filmmaker of Dan Geva's quality to Baltimore," said Terry M. Rubenstein, executive vice president of the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds. "Dan will spend the semester here teaching and representing the phenomenal artists that live in Israel-a small country loaded with talent in the cultural arts. This is a way for us to help showcase that talent in Baltimore."

Dan and his wife, Noit, have co-produced, written, filmed, edited and directed more than 20 documentaries, including the award-winning What I Saw in Hebron, The Key, fall and their latest film Description of a Memory. Many of their films have screened throughout the world, notably at the Berlin International Film Festival and the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam. Their films have been broadcast on television networks such as Arte (Franco-German) and SBS (Australian). In 2005, a retrospective of their films was showcased at five cinémathèques in Israel.

The Schusterman Visiting Artists Program is dedicated to engaging American audiences with Israeli artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers and choreographers. Through the program, Israeli artists travel to America for residencies at some of the nation's most prestigious universities and museums, Jewish community centers and cultural organizations. The program has a special focus on fostering high levels of interaction between the artists and the local communities where they are based.

"With the exceptional cooperation among the Baltimore colleges and institutions, the advance planning of this residency plus the generous additional support provided by the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, Geva's residency will undoubtedly be a model for all future Schusterman Visiting Artist residencies," said Marge Goldwater, director of the Schusterman Visiting Artists Program.

CONTEMPORARY ISRAELI FILMS: CURATED BY DAN AND NOIT GEVA
Presented by MICA, Maryland Film Festival and William & Irene Weinberg Family Baltimore Jewish Film Festival
All screenings free, 7:30 p.m., MICA's Brown Center: Falvey Hall, 1301 W. Mount Royal Ave.
• Thursday, Feb. 4: The Beetle by Yishai Orian
• Thursday, Feb. 18: Description of a Memory by Dan and Noit Geva
• RESCHEDULED: Wednesday, March 10: No. 17 by David Ofek

ABRAHAMIC FILM SERIES
Presented by Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies, Goucher College's Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, and American Jewish Committee
All screenings free, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Goucher College, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road
• Wednesday, March 24: Badal by Ibtisam Mara'na; Merrick Hall
• Wednesday, April 14: Selections from Jerusalem-Rhythms of a Distant City, What I Saw in Hebron, Description of a Memory and Take Now Your Son by Dan and Noit Geva; Merrick Hall
• Wednesday, May 5: Arna's Children by Juliano Mer Khamis and Danniel Danniel; Kelly Hall

ADDITIONAL SCREENINGS
Presented by Johns Hopkins University Hillel
All screenings free, Thursdays, March 4 and 11, 7 p.m., Hopkins' Smokler Center for Jewish Life Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building, 3109 N. Charles St.

THE SPRING 2010 SCHUSTERMAN VISITING ARTIST RESIDENCY AT MICA
The Spring 2010 Schusterman Visiting Artist Residency at MICA and public programs are sponsored by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation with additional generous funding from the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds.

The consortium of community organizations and institutions collaborating with MICA on public programs is THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson University, Gordon Center for the Performing Arts, Goucher College, Johns Hopkins University Hillel, Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies, Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore, The William and Irene Weinberg Family Baltimore Jewish Film Festival, American Jewish Committee, Baltimore Jewish Council and the Maryland Film Festival.

Read The Baltimore Sun's story about Dan Geva and his residency here or listen to his interview on WEAA 88.9 FM.

For more information about Dan Geva and his residency, call MICA's communications office at 410.225.2300.

For more information about the partners' specific events, please contact the organizations directly. Adam Gregerman, Ph.D., Jewish Scholar, Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies, 410.494.7161; Rabbi Debbie Pine, Executive Director, Johns Hopkins University Hillel, 410.516.0333.

Image caption: Dan Geva headshot

 

Founded in 1826, MICA is among the top visual arts colleges in the nation. It enrolls 1,714 undergraduate and 218 graduate students from 48 states and 52 foreign countries, offering programs of study leading to the bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.), master of arts (M.A.), and master of fine arts (M.F.A.) degrees. It also offers post-baccalaureate certificate programs and a full slate of credit and noncredit courses for adults, college-bound students, and children. MICA is recognized as an important cultural resource for the Baltimore/Washington region, sponsoring many public and community-outreach programs-including more than 100 exhibitions by students, faculty, and nationally and internationally known artists annually-as well as artists' residencies, film series, lectures, readings, and performances.

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