“There’s a lot of hate in this world… We live with it daily: anti-this, ant-that – when all it should be is anti-hate.” Dorin Braun’s lyrical voice grabs my attention. The words he co-wrote with Chad Nathan and Daniel Navarro draw me in. My eyes feast on Chad’s skilled videography.
I’ve just watched ‘Our Story, Their Reality’, a video produced by these three Cape Town-based friends for the 2017 Israel Video Network’s ‘Inspired by Israel’ competition, (sponsored by the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation in partnership with the 12Tribe Films Foundation). Their clever concept and inspired production – the video uses the beauty of Cape Town, their physical home, as a backdrop to a message about the connection South African Jews have with Israel – earned them a place in the top 20 of this international competition.
“loads of fun.”
“I’ve known Dorin and Chad for years and we all come from creative backgrounds,” says Daniel. “My mom entered me into the competition and I asked them to collaborate with me to make a video about what inspires us about Israel as South African Jews.”
“We spent a good couple of days shooting,” adds Dorin. “It was loads of fun. We shot in different locations in Cape Town using different methods of filming: drone, GoPro, Oslo and standard camera.” “We all worked very hard, each contributing in the area we knew best,” says Chad.
Who are they?
Chad Justin Nathan matriculated from King David Victory Park in 2011 and worked in a bar in Tel Aviv for some of his gap year before completing a B Comm at UJ. “I hated it and moved to Cape Town the minute I graduated,” he says. An honours in Strategic Brand Management at Vega awoke his. passion for photo and film; armed with a GoPro, he started experimenting. “When he could see I was getting good at it, my dad bought me a proper camera,” says Chad, who goes by the Instagram name @GingerwithaGoPro.
With vision and an eye for beauty, this red-haired young entrepreneur has already started his own digital marketing company specialising in social media management – wildginga.com.
JHB-born Daniel Navarro is now a 5th year UCT Quantity Surveying Honours student, but that hasn’t stopped him launching his own business. “I started SM Creative (www.smcreative.co.za, @Nav.SMCreative) almost a year ago – I offer social media management; content creation; and model, lifestyle and product photography,” says Daniel.
JHB-born but CT-bred, Dorin Braun studied sound engineering before completing a BComm Finance. A music producer and artist in his own right – Dorin’s first album, Do My Thing, was released in December and his new album is due out in July 2017, Dorin uses the stage name (DSB). “Music is my proper passion; it’s in my blood,” he says.
Israel – their spiritual homeland
The talented trio each feel a strong connection to Israel. “We have friends and family in Israel, some who’ve gone to the IDF,” says Daniel. “As jews we know Israel is our homeland and we always feel welcome to visit.”
Working on the video helped Dorin experience what Israel means to him. “I love that we got to show people that we’re proud South African Jews,” he says. “I’ve learned so much about how to deal with people from being Jewish, especially in our diverse country. I’ve seen and been a target of anti-semitism and had many debates about Israel.The material we’ve created gives us – and others – a strong leg to stand on.”
Chad went on Shorashim in grade 10 and has been back to Israel several times. “I’m making my way back there in a month for a wedding. It’s one of my favourite places in the world – I just have such a strong connection to that place.” Chad plans to move back and work in Israel again. “There is so much opportunity there.”
On not winning
While the trio believed their entry was good enough to earn them a place in the top five, the international voting system worked against them. “The main prize would have been great but for me its not really about the prize,” says Dorin. “We’re still going to use this video to create awareness and show people that Israel isn’t just about what you see in the news – it’s a great country with great people.”
Chad says they were upset that it came down to the number of votes a video got. “We deserved to be in the top 5. Our video was a beautiful production about why Jewish South Africans have this deep love for Israel. Why do our friends go and fight in the Israeli army when they wouldn’t fight in the SA army?”
“Although our video didn’t win, it allowed us to come together as creatives with different backgrounds in sound engineering, photography, videography and social media marketing to create a beautiful video encapsulating the connection we Jews have to Israel no matter where in the world we live,” says Daniel.
These three young Jewish South African Zionists are making waves in the fast-paced world of social media and multi-media production. And they aren’t afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Now that’s a winning combination in my eyes.
Watch the video at: http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/our-story-their-reality/