EXPANDS VIRTUAL CINEMA PROJECT TO INTERNET VIEWERS Jerusalem, Oct. 30, 2003 The Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has completed a major upgrade and expansion of its virtual cinema project, which makes films from its collection available for Internet viewing.
The five-year undertaking, funded by the American Friends of the Hebrew University in Los Angeles in honor of Motion Picture Association of America Chairman Jack Valenti, began last year when the first 100 films went online. This years additions bring the total to over 200 complete motion pictures that may be viewed by anyone with broadband Internet access. A number of technical improvements have been incorporated into the viewing experience. The size of the streaming image has been doubled, with a commensurate increase in quality. With the click of a button, PC and Macintosh users can enjoy full-screen Jewish documentary films. Access to the site is at: spielbergfilmarchive.org.il. The Spielberg Archive has the worlds largest collection of Jewish documentary films. A number of rare historical items are included in the latest additions to the virtual cinema. These include the first newsreel with a Hebrew soundtrack and earliest known locally-made short animation film, both produced by pioneer filmmaker and artist Baruch Agadati; two War of Independence newsreels from 1948; a documentary on the Jewish Brigade made towards the end of World War II; and a color film showing kibbutz Deganya in the late 1930s. These films may be selected for viewing either through a categorized portal or through the archives searchable online catalogue, in order to accommodate the needs of both newcomers and seasoned researchers. The films were digitized by Dr. Michael Beigel of the Multimedia Assisted Learning Studio at the Universitys Faculty of Medicine and put online by CastUP. The portal was designed by Adina Rose. Note: Stills from a selection of the films in the virtual cinema project are available via e-mail upon request. BPI.
