Current sectionArt & CultureShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeFilmmaker Benita Raphan in her apartment in 1999. She committed suicide in 2021 at age 58. Credit: Barbara AlperThe family of Benita Raphan, an experimental filmmaker who died in 2021, was hoping Berliner would finish her final film. The movie he made, showing at Tel Aviv's Docaviv festival this week, is something entirely different07:10 PM • May 31 2026 IDTFilmmaker Alan Berliner gives an apt description of his new film, "BENITA," which he's been taking to festivals around the world and is screening at Docaviv, Israel's largest documentary film festival. "[It's] a film about a filmmaker, by a filmmaker, that's also a film about filmmaking," he explains.In the News'You Culturally Appropriate a Lot. You Also Took Genocide – We Did It First!'Defying War, Boycott and Threats of Censorship, Docaviv 2026 to Open in Tel AvivIn Tel Aviv, an Exhibition Turns Israel's 'Enemies of the State' Into ArtHow a Portrait of an Australian Jewish Leader Humanizes an Anguished Community'The Mandalorian and Grogu' Is Another Uninspired 'Star Wars' OfferingRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIIsrael Orders Unprecedented Seizure of Religious Site From Palestinian Authority'Israelis Are More Genocidal Than You Think': The 'Counter Hasbara' of Andrey XFormer Israeli Soldier Dies by Suicide in Miami at Age 23Netanyahu's Promises of Victory in Iran End in a Glorious U.S. CapitulationIsrael 2026 Election Poll Tracker: The Latest ProjectionsUN Report Accuses Israeli Forces of Rape, Sexual Abuse of Palestinian Detainees
Alan Berliner on 'BENITA,' a 'posthumous collaboration' now playing at Docaviv
The Family of Benita Raphan, an Experimental Filmmaker Who Died in 2021, Was Hoping Berliner Would Finish Her Final Film. The Movie He Made, Showing at Tel Aviv's Docaviv Festival This Week, Is Something Entirely Different
TL;DRAI
Alan Berliner's "BENITA" documents experimental filmmaker Benita Raphan (died 2021, age 58) at Docaviv — built as a new film, not the completion her family sought. It surfaces posthumous authorship tensions relevant to managing unfinished creative or IP assets.
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