Mike's Place Film

In a previous incarnation I worked in a bar in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv called Mike's Place. It is a famous bar, particularly amongst ex-pats and tourists. But, for me it also provided a second family. Over the years that I was there the bar expanded into a restaurant and opened up two more branches. The reason for its phenomenal success, despite the situation in Israel, was an amazing combination of the people and the spirit that resonated in the bar. On any given night you could see any combination of people from different religions and nationalities propping up the bar. As hard as it sounds today, we talked together, listened to music together and dreamed dreams together. But, on the 29th of April 2003 a homicide bomber walked inside the bar and killed three people and injured many more.

However, none of us – either in England or Israel – were allowed to be despondent. Mike’s always promoted a strong message of peace and always held to a policy of being a haven for all, regardless of where they were from. Within hours hundreds of people heeded that message and flooded to Mike’s place to help them rebuild. The bombing was not going to be allowed to destroy the belief that a better future was possible. They re-opened and founded a charity to help all victims of terror.

We are now coming towards the fifth year anniversary of the bombing. Fate brought film-makers together in April 2003. They had begun a documentary about a live music blues bar by the beach in Tel Aviv, Mike’s Place. They had aimed to show that there was more to the Middle East than seemingly endless war and terrorism. But there filming was abruptly ended when the harsh reality of the bomb hit Mike’s Place and changed the course of their film.

What follows is the Press release for Blues by the Beach:

BLUES BY THE BEACH ONLINE PREMIERE APRIL 30TH, 2008
Blues by the Beach officially debuts on the fifth anniversary of the Mike’s Place terrorist attack. On April 30, 2003 an American producer and his film crew were in the midst of a lighthearted documentary about the popular music bar when two British Nationals participated in a suicide bombing. The film captures the unprecedented before, during and aftermath; footage from this film aired around the world.The award winning documentary film Blues by the Beach about the April 30, 2003 terrorist attack at Mike’s Place bar in Tel Aviv, Israel, is now available to everyone online via new video streaming technology from VIVIDAS. There are no downloads and no installation of programs. Within seconds Blues by the Beach is ready for viewing. This innovative technology takes up no computer memory and lets users watch video in a vibrant full-screen mode and connect their laptop to TV.Blues by the Beach is not distributed on DVD or television. The film is playing exclusively at www.bluesbythebeachfilm.com. Pay Per Views are $4.99 each and viewers get three screenings for one month - any of these three screenings may then be e-mailed to friends and family.You are invited to preview the free trailer and purchase Pay Per Views at the film’s Official Website and Online Cinema www.bluesbythebeachfilm.com. Experience this new video streaming technology and delivery system from VIVIDAS and see Blues by the Beach. As Pulitzer Prize winning dramatist and filmmaker David Mamet writes: “This is a very, very important film”. View the Film Trailer on YouTube: .http://youtube.com/watch?v=UN-ORfYk2ZE