A bit of bad sportsmanship – two running stories from the region 

The first is from the Jerusalem Marathon from last Friday – it all looked amazing and great and beautiful, but now the organizers are feeling a little embarrassed as two of the professional runners that they flew in from Ethiopia to participate in the race to boost its international image, have, (em sorry) made a run for it. Malet Mekonen and Mahalat Zalika were both seen at the beginning of the race running across the start line, but neither of them made it to the end. The race officials in Jerusalem Municipality at first thought they had been injured en route, but now believe the women took the opportunity of being brought to Israel to stay here for “reasons unknown”. Remarkably, all of their belongings, and most importantly their passports, are in the hands of the race organizers, as they brought them to the race, and handed them in to be held in safety in the race lockers!

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Alata (English title – Out in the Dark) 

a new movie by Michael Mayer, that had its world premiere at The Toronto International Film Festival last year and then went on to share Best Film Award at the Haifa International Film Festival, along with Filling the Void. Unlike its co-winner, Alata didn’t go on to win prizes at all of the major film festivals last year, but it has seen remarkable commercial success for an Israeli feature, having already sold to 35 countries, and it has also been picked up by HBO. (more…)