The great Israeli actress Lea Koenig is presented here as she tells the story of the two great loves of her life – the theater and her husband, director and actor, Zvi Shtopler. He encouraged her, wrote for her and directed her as she became the grand dame of the Israeli theater.
But her dedication to acting led to difficult life choices; including the decision not to have children. Using the play "Three Tall Women" as a running motif, the film shows the blurred borders between reality and the stage as Lea tragically plays a woman caring for her sick husband in the theater and in real life.
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ea Koenig’s Loves is dramatic, entertaining, and like her life, both exhilarating and sad. Born of a theatrical family Lea Koenig decides early on that she wants to be an actress but not because of the influence of her parents, because of the encouragement she received from a handsome young man, Zvi Shtopler. Thus began her love affairs with the theater and the man who was to become her husband. For the entire review by EMRO, check: http://emro.lib.buffalo.edu/emro/emroDetail.asp?Number=5482
A Story of Love and Darkness
Tali Ohion’s new film will premiere at the Tel Aviv Museum
HaBama, May 13th 2012 http://www.habama.co.il/Pages/Description.aspx?Subj=4&Area=1&ArticleId=17356
The film, directed by Tali Ohion, tells the story of the life and work of the 83 year old actress. The film presents her two great loves; the theater and her late husband, to the point where the lines between theater and reality are blurred.
Using this as an outline, the history of the national Israeli theater, HaBima, is also told along with the last 50 years of theater in Israel through the stories of directors, producers and actors who all played a part in Lea Koenig’s life. Her present life is shown to be filled with admirers and supporters – yet she is lonely and lives with the loss of her soul mate.
Tali Ohion talks about the connection to Lea Koening: “ I met Lea seven years ago when I was managing her at HaBima. Every evening I got goose bumps hearing her do the monologue from “Three Tall Women” where she talks about the loss of her husband to cancer. I knew that this had happened to her in real life and I identified with her because I too had lost the love of my life. One day she asked if I would write her a good role in a feature film. I suggested that we work on a documentary about her own life. And she agreed. “