In Memory of Costel Safirman

On November 20, 1993, the first session of Cinematic Variations on Live Classical Music was held at the Jerusalem Cinematheque.

From its inception, this popular program, which gathered hundreds of people at each session on Saturday mornings at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, was led by Costel Safirman, then an employee of the Cinematheque who also managed its library, and Chana Englard, the production director of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

31 years later, Costel was also the one who chose the title for the current season – Season 30+1.

Costel agreed to take on the current season after much deliberation. In frail health and after marking the 30th edition last season, he felt it was a good stopping point for him. Nevertheless, following a flood of requests from the audience and from us, Costel agreed to commit to the current season as well and therefore asked to call it 30+1.

With 30 successful seasons of the Cinematic Variations behind him, he was willing to commit to one more season.

Along with his longtime partner in the Variations, Chana Englard, and with Ohad Letko, who joined the team in the past two years, Costel created the current season, chose most of the films included, and was involved in planning the sessions.

Unfortunately, this is indeed Costel's last season. Last June, only two months after he concluded the final session of the 30th season, we bid him farewell forever.

Costel's exceptional meticulousness in every detail of the Variations events, alongside his resonant voice and winning personality, will be greatly missed in the halls of the Cinematheque. May his memory be a blessing.

Here at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, we will continue the cultural legacy that he established alongside Chana over the years – Cinematic Variations on Live Classical Music, a unique music and cinema program which was described in its first session in 1993 as "a program for lovers of classical music and cinema", and which has since expanded to numerous musical genres.

We dedicate this season to his memory.

I'd like to wish Chana and Ohad good luck in leading the current program and in the upcoming seasons, and we hope you'll enjoy the rich auditory and visual experiences presented throughout the 14 different sessions this season.

With warm wishes,

Roni Mahadav-Levin

Executive Director, Jerusalem Cinematheque - Israel Film Archive