01/23/2026
DocuNation Attempts to Tell the 'Reel' Story About Israel
Photo / Freerange Stock
Article reprinted with permission from Canvas magazine
by Jimmy Oswald
Israeli filmmaker Yonatan Nir understands all too well the negative reputation his country has developed around the world since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion.
That’s why he feels it is more important than ever to share “the true, good face of Israel” with those across the globe. He has sought to do so through DocuNation, which he co-founded alongside Almog Gurvich, a company that screens Israeli documentary films which highlight inspiring tales about people and communities within the country with a focus on the cultural impact they are making.
“There’s a lot of very negative things that are happening here right now, but there are also really good things that are happening,” Nir told the Cleveland Jewish News. “As dark as it gets, you can still see the smallest lights. That’s scientific. DocuNation is growing from crisis. We started during one, COVID, and we’ve been growing through one because of the war.”
Nir
Nir is teaming up with the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection, a program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, to bring DocuNation to Northeast Ohio for a series called “DocuNation: Embracing the Israeli Spirit.” Each month from February to April, participants will be able to view the featured documentary and then have, during a special screening, a live conversation about the film with Nir over Zoom.
“It’s always interesting for me to meet people and try to connect with them on universal themes that we all share,” Nir said. “I believe that we come to this world for a very short time, and during that time we should try to be kind and nice to each other and connect through the positive aspects of humanity. That’s what I’m trying to do in my life: direct my cameras’ attention to things that make me hopeful about the future.”
After mainly sticking with Israel, DocuNation started to present its film in English about a year ago, giving the organization an opportunity to expand its audience.
Stamler
“Cleveland has long been a city that values culture, learning and meaningful civic conversation, and DocuNation: Embracing the Israeli Spirit fits squarely within that tradition,” Cathy Stamler, chair of the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection’s film committee, told the CJN. “Bringing this virtual documentary series to Cleveland positions the community not just as an audience, but as an active participant in a timely global cultural conversation.”
Three DocuNation films will be shown through Cleveland Israel Arts Connection, two of them directed by Nir: “My Hero Brother,” by Nir will be shown from Jan. 29 to Feb. 16 with a live Q&A with the director on Feb. 8; “A Heartbeat Away,” by Tal Barda and Noam Pinchas will be screened from March 12 to March 30 with a live Q&A on March 22; and “Picture of His Life,” by Nir and Dani Menkin will be available from April 9 to April 27 with a live Q&A on April 19.
“The virtual format is especially exciting because it removes geographic barriers,” Stamler said. “Our audience can engage with Israeli films and post-film conversations that might otherwise only be available in major cities or international festivals – without leaving home. For Cleveland’s Jewish community in particular, the series offers an opportunity to engage with Israel in a different way.”
“My Hero Brother” follows a group of young people with Down syndrome as they embark on a trek through the Indian Himalayas alongside their siblings, and “A Heartbeat Away” tells the story of Dr. Akiva Tamir, an Israeli pediatric cardiologist sent to Africa to perform life saving operations in Tanzania.
“Picture of his Life” is about wildlife photographer Amos Nachoum as he tries to achieve his dream of photographing a polar bear underwater while swimming alongside it.
“It’s about the way there and the experience of getting to the Canadian high Arctic with the Inuit people, finding the bear and swimming with it, but it’s also about his personal life,” Nir said. “It’s about his decisions in his life and his very complex relationship with his father and with the war in Israel. It’s something that I’ve been working on for 10 years, so it’s definitely a very deep part of my heart and my soul.”
For more information and to reserve a spot, visit docunation.org/ciac.
