The traveling exhibition The Great Dress by Marcelle Tehila Bitton, which was first shown at the Arad Contemporary Art Center from May to August 2024, is now being shown at the Salon at the Schechter Gallery. The Great Dress includes two works by the artist, who grew up in a Sephardic rabbinic family and within the Hassidic world, and is part of a wave of female Haredi filmmakers. The two works are linked in that they personify different forms of identity and masquerading, of conceptual fluidity and movement between worlds. 

“Edri in Mea Shearim” (2019-2021) is a key work by Marcelle Tehila Bitton, and merges two fields such that they do not eliminate each other but rather both remain present. The first field is the female Haredi genre in which the artist has her creative roots, and which has developed and grown more advanced over the years. In this genre, women play all the parts (including male roles) and women are both the creators and the audience. 

Female Haredi film began two decades ago,and was self-funded by the filmmakers, without the support of external organizations. This is a fast-growing movement, generating great social changes. Dozens of films have already been made as part of this movement. The filmmakers take on a significant risk of financial loss if a film does not suit the target audience, and the risk of boycott on the part of the audience or from various supervisory entities. But these challenges don’t stop them from continuing to create or touch upon sensitive subjects. In their way, they’re trying to create new spaces, beneath the surface, that stretch boundaries. The films feature only women – secular actresses alongside Haredi or newly religious actresses. Devoid of romantic storylines, the female Haredi film genre is characterized by stories of bravery and period dramas, external conflicts and melodramas. The set and costume designs are a central part of their production, and they are characterized by classic and well-made couture, alongside precise film and sound production.

The second field referenced in the work, and which was a source of inspiration for various scenes, is Hollywood film Breakfast at Tiffany’s(1961, starring Audrey Hepburn): the artist accurately recreates scenes from the film and brings them together again. Audrey becomes Edri, a croissant becomes sfinj, Tiffany gemstones become the Jerusalem stones on the walls of Mea Shearim.