bz

BZ GOLDBERG  is an artist and filmmaker who was born in Boston and grew up outside of Jerusalem.

In 1988 BZ ran away from NYU film school to work as a news journalist* covering the Palestinian “Intifada”  for for Reuters TV, the BBC, NBC, CNN, RAI (probably the only Italian TV network not owned by Berlusconi) and NHK (Japanese TV.) The Intifada, and especially the role children played in it impacted BZ deeply. Still, after producing unending news feeds showing nothing but escalating violence, inhaling way too much Israeli tear gas and dodging countless rocks thrown by Palestinian demonstrators (well he dodged all but one,) BZ left his TV job to study alternative approaches to conflict and conflict resolution, and spent seven years as a management consultant for a variety of organizations and companies—from AT&T to Levis Straus to Columbia University to Lech Walesa’s Solidarity movement to Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

In 1995, still haunted by his experiences in the Intifada, BZ teamed up with Justine Shapiro (of Lonely Planet fame,) to  produced the Academy Award nominated documentary PROMISES which was released in 2001. From 2004 to 2009 BZ directed and produced a series of 170 short films (filmed in eight locations around the world on the same line of longitude) for the world’s first museum dedicated exclusively to climate and climate change, the “Klimahaus” located in northern Germany. Currently BZ is writing, producing, and directing on a number of TV series, films, and media projects. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife, who works as a human rights attorney, and their daughter.

In his spare time BZ teaches singing.

.
– public presentation of work
– awards, honors, grants, funding
– press & reviews
– curriculum vitae

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* Since the uprising had created an overnight demand for dozens of news crews, and at the time “cameramen” were getting paid $50 a day more than “soundmen,” overnight all the Israeli soundmen had become cameramen. Desperate for soundmen, the industry was happy to ignore B.Z.’s total lack of experience. The interview went like this: Executive: Do you know how to record sound? BZ: Yes. Executive: Are you okay with Palestinians throwing rocks at you? BZ: Yes. Executive: Do you have a problem with soldiers firing tear gas at you? BZ: No. Executive: Rubber Bullets? BZ: No. Executive: You’re a soundman. You start tomorrow. Later on BZ became a producer, which at the time was a glorious title for a soundman with a cell phone.

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