The University of Wisconsin Israeli Film Festival kicked off Sunday in a student and faculty orchestrated event that sought to depict the many aspects of being an Israeli.

Focusing on the metropolitan city of Tel-Aviv as an emblem of modern Israel, the festival will feature 10 films chosen by a student committee.

“Most of the films were picked by students who wanted to know more about the life of young people in Tel-Aviv,” said Miri Talmon-Bohm, a faculty coordinator and expert on Israeli cinema and culture.

According to Nicole Halpern, a UW student and committee member, “The film festival depicts war, relationships, the way Israel works with the rest of the world. Each film really adds a piece to what Israelis go through every day.”

Talmon-Bohm, a visiting professor in the Department of Hebrew and Semitic studies and the center for Jewish Studies, explained in addition to celebrating its centennial this year, Tel-Aviv is a unique, edgy, complex, multicultural reality and interesting case study that addresses issues relevant not only in Israel and the Middle East but the modern world as a whole.

“The idea was to open new horizons in our thinking of not only Tel-Aviv and Israel, but our life as it is in a postmodern global world…” Talmon-Bohm said. “It’s really human aspects of our existence that are of interest, no less than the specific place.”

Talmon-Bohm went on to say many of the films were made by Generation X Israelis, who are furious about the selling out of their parents’ generation. He said they criticize capitalistic and materialistic values in societies.

Halpern said they tried to pick films that would be of particular interest to students.

“Some may think of Tel-Aviv as the California of Israel. It’s that type of place. Very thriving, there’s a lot going on, there’s a lot of excitement. It’s a party area, but a lot of history has gone into it,” Halpern said.

Pandering to student interests while illustrating Tel-Aviv in a global context, many of the films illustrate Tel-Aviv as an intermediary bridge connecting a variety of opposing religious, political and cultural ideals, according to Talmon-Bohm.

She said Tel-Aviv has a unique blend of eastern and western culture, with both modern and Orthodox Judaism, and citizens who represent both ends of the political spectrum.

Both Halpern and Talmon-Bohm agree film is a special medium that is able to show facets of a society and culture that are often distorted or ignored by mainstream media.

“Film is a special encounter between the viewers and a different complex reality that they don’t know much about. For me it’s always a window into these cultures” Talmon-Bohm said.

The film festival is being held at the Chazen Museum of Art and will run until Thursday. Films will be shown every night at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30p.m. Tickets are available for free online at www.uwhillel.org.