'Holy Ghetto' West Coast Premiere at Dances With Films Festival
Dances With Films Festival
Sunday, June 21 * 6:15pm
TCL Chinese Theater, Hollywood.
Hope and transformation at the heart of 'Holy Ghetto'
Four souls trapped within Tel Aviv’s red-light district, entangled in sex trafficking and addiction, embark on spiritual journeys to transcend their personal ghettos. Olga, abducted by traffickers at 17; Dave, an American who founded a shelter for homeless women in prostitution; Yana, a recovering addict and struggling mother of five; and Ohad, a former sex-trafficker chasing redemption. Holy Ghetto is a story of hope and transformation, asking: Can they rise above what they became? And in turn, can we?
iLan Azoulai: Director / Producer / Writer / Editor / Cinematographer
Award-winning Director iLan Azoulai is a multifaceted artist, filmmaker, photographer, musician, spiritual life coach and sound healer who has woven his diverse skills and interests into a transformative journey.
Born to a Moroccan family in what is now Tel Aviv’s red-light district. After studies at the fir Israeli Music school "Rimon", he moved to the USA and has been living in the USA for over three decades, first in Boston, where he attended the Berklee College of Music, and later in Los Angeles, where he now resides, his background bridges the divide between two vastly different worlds.
A skilled director, editor and cinematographer, iLan has captured the essence of narratives ranging from the life of a child prodigy chef to the intimate worldview of a beekeeper to his now finished documentary film “Holy Ghetto”. His own musical talents, showcased in compositions for film and theater, and an album released in Israel, reflect his lifelong interest in interweaving composition and mysticism.
Beyond filmmaking, iLan serves as a spiritual guide, employing shamanic and Kabbalah teachings where he helps people manifest and transform their physical lives by understanding their spiritual one.
Ravit Markus: Story Consultant
Award-winning filmmaker Ravit Markus had documentary features in Slamdance two years in a row, winning the Audience Award in 2023 for “American Pot Story: Oaksterdam” and receiving wonderful reviews for Paralympic doc “Nina is an Athlete” in 2024, as part of the disability focused Unstoppable program.
Winner of multiple international awards by now, “Oaksterdam” is a 10-year exploration of the power of the activist, no matter the cause, “a must-watch for every American” (Film Threat). Her previous documentaries include the critically acclaimed “Yiddish Theater: A Love Story” which she wrote and produced. It became a cultural phenomenon when it commercially played in theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Tel Aviv for months and months garnering raving reviews at the NY Times, LA Times, and the NY Magazine, to mention a few, resulting in a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It also made critic Jennifer Merin’s top 10 documentaries list of 2007 in About.com. Ravit co-produced Jewish Film Festivals’ darling “Rock in the Red Zone”; and produced the Channel 4 UK documentary “Porn Shutdown”, which aired worldwide including on the Sundance Channel, and received excellent reviews in The Guardian and the London Time Out.
Ravit is a recipient of the NY Women in Film & TV (NYWIFT) Disability Awareness Completion Grant for “Nina” which was hailed for its authentic and universal look at womanhood and disability. She holds a dual BFA in Screenwriting and Directing from The Film and TV Department at Tel Aviv University.
Gina Ann: Story Consultant
Gina Ann is blessed to be a mom, her greatest creations and life lesson. She is a transformational storyteller, intuitive spiritual counselor, SAG-AFTRA member, Huffington Post blogger, and Hay House published children’s author whose work transforms imagination into healing and self-discovery.
With over thirty years of experience guiding individuals and families, Gina crafts stories, experiences, and solutions that awaken the inner child, cultivate resilience, and create a safe space where healing and creativity meet.
Gina’s professional path is anchored in both scholarship and lived experience. She holds a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology and is certified in Life Coaching, Imago Relationship Therapy, and tapping. Her eighteen plus years as a paraeducator in academic, physical, and special education give her a rare understanding of child development, learning differences, and the power of creativity and play to shape emotional intelligence.
As the creator of the Fairy Angel jojo series, she has published five heart-centered children’s books that guide readers through anxiety, self-doubt, and change while providing parents, educators, and therapists with tools to foster resilience, self-awareness, and play.
Gina brings stories to life as an actor, producer, and voice artist, captivating audiences across film, television, and commercials. She also provides medium services, offering clarity, connection, and guidance for those seeking insight and healing. Her Huffington Post contributions further showcase her voice on spirituality, emotional intelligence, and personal growth, reaching readers who are hungry for wisdom, inspiration, and transformation.
Danna Kinsky: Cinematographer
Danna Kinsky is a cinematographer based in Los Angeles. She creates emotional stories via images that aim to move the heart, create new perspectives, with hope to help make our world a better place. She loves to travel around the United States and the world to capture a variety of cultures and connect with humanity.
Through her various affiliations with groups like The American Society of Cinematographers’ Motion Imagine Technology Committee and various gear vendors, Danna immerses herself in new technologies, such as Aerial (and drone) cinematography, VR, HDR and most recently Volume Capture. Her passion to help female filmmakers advance to the next level led her to be an active part of initiatives like the International Female Collective of Cinematographers (ICFC).
A dedicated and passionate hard working professional with over 30 years behind the camera, Danna has created award winning narrative films, documentaries, music videos, commercials, reality TV etc.
Clients include: HBO, Amazon Prime, NBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, MTV, VH-1, MUN2, A&E, APTN, PRG, Fox Sports, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Channels 1, 2, 10 and 8 in Israel.
Below you can download her contact card, review her equipment list and connect with all her social media.
Shirley Paden: Executive Producer
Shirley Paden is the publisher and author of books on hand knitting including Knitwear Design Workshop and Knitwear Workshop Designs: Duets & Inspirations. She is also an internationally recognized hand knitwear designer and teacher.
Over the past 30 years her designs and articles have appeared in all the major American and leading European Knitting magazines as well as many other hand knitting publications. She has been featured on HGTV and Knitting Daily TV. She was also featured on the British list of “Who’s Who in North American Knitting”, on the British list of BIPOC Design Icons, and selected to headline the Danish Needlework Conference in Middelfart Denmark.
In 2022 Shirley embarked on a fantasy trilogy of knitting books accompanied by AR and VFX films. This endeavor propelled her to launch Shirley Paden Productions, a film company that is expanding to include documentary and fiction projects.
Julie Bergman: Executive Producer
Julie is a committed mother, a daughter, an activist, filmmaker and writer.
Julie Bergman has a unique mix of experience: as a Hollywood Studio Executive, as a producer of feature films and documentaries including an Academy Award nominee, as a writer as well and creator of groundbreaking and innovative media content, across multiple platforms.
Julie has travelled to the Middle East through the US State Department’s Vital Voices program speaking about the impact of women, technology, new media and storytelling at conferences in Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
Julie’s Documentary “Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World” in partnership with HRH, The Prince of Wales, looks at solutions to the global environmental and economic crises. It premiered at the inaugural Sundance London film festival and won a Cinema for Peace Green Award during the Berlin Film Festival.
During the Pandemic, she co-produced and wrote the livestream “Artists for Amazonia” raising funds to help the Covid-19 crisis that invaded the Indigenous Communities in the Brazilian Rainforest.
Nathan Cohen: Original Music. Holy Ghetto theme song.
Nathan Cohen is an Israeli singer-songwriter, composer, arranger, and music producer whose work has helped shape modern Israeli popular music.
He rose to prominence as the founder and musical leader of the influential band HaNeshamos HaTehoros (“The Pure Souls”), composing most of the group’s celebrated repertoire and developing their unmistakable musical DNA.
One of the band’s signature songs, “In the Streets of the Pure Souls", was composed by Cohen in the 1970's (Lyrics: Shimon Sapir) and has since become closely identified with their legacy and with Nathan's.
For Holy Ghetto, Cohen re-recorded this song specifically as the film’s theme, an almost eerie full-circle moment, because the lyrics speak directly about the very same streets where the film unfolds.
In other words, the song isn’t just background music…
it’s the neighborhood itself, singing.