Paula Levine begins her “Burials and Borders” in stunning fashion, with stark white text on a black screen backed by the melancholy strains of a cello.
The hourlong video takes the form of a letter from Levine to her brother Justin, who died accidentally some years after making aliyah with his family in the mid-’80s. The siblings weren’t close, but something continues to nag at Levine.
Justin is buried where he lived, on Kibbutz Merom Golan in the Golan Heights. A land-for-peace agreement with Syria would remove this area from Israeli control.
What would it mean if the border moved, and the cemetery was on the other side? Levine probes both the metaphysical and physical aspects of that question, mixing the personal and the political — and poetic essay with straightforward documentary — to generally unsatisfying effect.
“Burials and Borders” has its world premiere Oct. 3 and 4 — along with “Convergence,” a short observational piece she shot at the Western Wall — as part of Mill Valley Film Festival. Levine, who teaches in the conceptual design department at San Francisco State University, will be on hand.
In the video, she spends considerable time interviewing Jewish and Arab residents of the Golan. But the film does not have an anti-Israel point of view. Rather, one senses that one of Levine’s intentions was to move beyond her long-held political stance toward Israel to a deeper understanding and connection with the people themselves.
But because she doesn’t explain her rift with Justin, or little else, we eagerly anticipate crucial revelations, and we are continually disappointed.
“Burials and Borders” plays at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael. Information: (925) 866-9559 or www.mvff.com.