The 35th ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles, the largest showcase of Israeli cinema and television in North America, unspools this year both in theaters and virtually from May 5th – 26th. The Festival’s Opening Night film on May 5th is director Avi Nesher’s critically acclaimed Image of Victory, nominated for 15 Ophir Awards; the evening also serves to celebrate Israel’s Independence Day. With leading Israeli filmmakers and talent in attendance for post screening Q&As, this year’s Festival will include five U.S. Premieres, six West Coast Premieres and 14 Los Angeles Premieres among the 30 award-winning features, documentaries and short films, announced Meir Fenigstein, founder and executive director of the ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles.
“I’m thrilled that the Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles is fully back for audiences to celebrate and support Israeli movies and their talented filmmakers. We hope that this 35th edition will be a new, exciting beginning towards continuing to bring the very best of Israeli culture to Los Angeles,” noted Fenigstein.
The Opening Night film, the Los Angeles Premiere of the much-anticipated Image of Victory directed by Nesher, will take place on May 5th at the Saban Theatre (Beverly Hills). All other Festival screenings will show at the Lumiere Cinema’s Music Hall Theater (Beverly Hills) and the Laemmle Town Center 5 (Encino).
To purchase tickets for the May 5th Opening Night Gala and all in-person and online screenings/Q&As visit: www.israelfilmfestival.com starting April 26th, 2022 or call 310-247-1800. Ticket prices are as follows: Opening Night: $85./per person (includes opening night red carpet arrival, VIP reception, screening and post dessert reception); $36./person (includes opening night screening and post dessert reception); regular festival screenings: $15./person; $13./person for students and senior citizens; $180./person for package of all regular screenings and scheduled post Q & As with filmmakers. For virtual screenings (which is strictly limited to the southern California area) the cost is $10. for one film streaming ticket; $36. for a bundle of four separate streaming tickets; $48. for a bundle of six separate streaming tickets; $75. for a bundle of ten separate streaming tickets.
Among the highlights for this year’s 35th ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles are:
Berenshtein – In this exciting journey into the depths of the soul, the last surviving member of the great partisans who located Hitler’s secret weapon, the V2 missile development facility, revisits his past as a soldier in World War II. By diving into his traumatic memories, he is forced to grapple with the dissociation and loss of identity that ensued after the war. Despite this adversity, it becomes clear that he is able to stay true to his values through it all. Based on the true story of Leonid Berenshtein.
Cinema Sabaya – This film follows nine women, Arab and Jewish, who take part in a video workshop hosted by a young film director who teaches them how to document their lives. With each raw homemade footage shot by the women and shared with the others, the group dynamic forces them to challenge their views and beliefs as they get to know each other and themselves better.
Greener Pastures – In this hilarious story, a cranky, a retired widower who is low on money and begrudgingly resides in a nursing home, learns that many of his fellow nursing home residents are users of medical marijuana. He soon embarks on a new business venture as a cannabis dealer. When his enterprise attracts the attention of both the police and a local street gang, he must decide whether he is willing to risk everything for what really matters most to him.
Here We Are – Winner of four Ophir Awards including Best Director, Actor, Supporting Actor and Screenplay, this is the poignant story of a man who has devoted his life to raising his young adult autistic son. Together they live in a gentle routine, away from the real world until the son prepares to move into a specialized facility to start to learn how to live life semi-independently. While on their way to this new home, the father decides to run away with his son and hits the road, knowing the son is not ready for this separation. Or is it, in fact, his father who is not ready?
Image of Victory – Considered Israel’s largest budget of film to date, the film is inspired by true events in 1948. Hassanin, an Egyptian filmmaker, is tasked with documenting a raid on the isolated kibbutz Nitzanim. When the kibbutz learns of the impending army raid, Mira, a young but valiant mother, is forced to reckon with the true cost of war and make an impossible choice.
More Than I Deserve – An award-winning film filled with emotional depth, the story is about a young boy who asks his single mother, who resists religion, if he can join his classmates in preparing their Bar Mitzvahs. She refuses. A religious neighbor volunteers to help the kid and the two form a strong bond. Gradually the mother falls for him to but will their romance last?
Plan A – Based on actual events and set in Germany in 1945, the film centers on a Holocaust survivor who meets a group of Jewish vigilantes. Together they develop a plan to take monstrous revenge against the German people for the Holocaust: to poison the water system in Germany and kill six million Germans. The film is based on the book “Nakam” by Israeli historian Dina Porat.
Queen Shoshana – An acclaimed documentary about the legendary life story of Shoshana Damari, the internationally known singing superstar who became an icon and a national treasure.
Saving Shuli – A record breaking comedy at the Israel box-office, the film is about three friends who go to Colombia to rescue one of their sons, who has been kidnapped by a drug kingpin.
Summer Nights – Winner of the Ophir Award for Best Documentary, this beautifully sensitive film offers a window into the world seen through the eyes of a six-year-old boy. It is a journey into the subconscious of an innocent and ingenuous child as he falls asleep and drifts into the depths of his own mind.
Select showings will include exclusive post screening interview Q&As with Israel’s most influential filmmakers and talent, each moderated by distinguished Israeli and American journalists. Among the filmmakers and talent scheduled to attend are:
Actor Michael Aloni, Plan A
Producer Ronen Machlis Balzam, Berenshtein
Producer Ehud Bleiberg, Image of Victory and Riding with a Spy
Actress Anna Doubrovitsky, More Than I Deserve
Actor Omer Hazan, Don’t Wait for Me
Director Yair Qedar, The Fourth Window and The Last Chapter of A.B. Yehoshua
Actress Agam Schuster, Two
The following is a full listing of the 35th ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles programming:
FEATURE FILMS
OPENING NIGHT FILM PRESENTATION
IMAGE OF VICTORY | תמונת הנצחון
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Avi Nesher | 2021, 121 Min
Based on true events in 1948, two cultures have their values tested as an Egyptian filmmaker is tasked with documenting a raid on an isolated kibbutz commune. As the situation escalates and takes unexpected turns, both sides must re-evaluate everything they know about life and war.
*Winner of three Israeli Academy Ophir Awards 2021
Festival Guest: Producer Ehud Bleiberg
GREENER PASTURES | שאיפה לחיים
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Matan Guggenheim, Assaf Abiri | 2020, 90 Min
Dov (79), a penniless widower, lives in a nursing home – and hates it. All he can think about is getting out of there, buy his house back and live there till he dies. When he notices that all his fellow residents smoke legal medical cannabis, he realizes that weed will be his salvation – selling it, not smoking it.
*2022 Palm Springs International Film Festival – Official Selection
*2020 Jerusalem International Film Festival – Official Selection
CINEMA SABAYA | סינמה סבאיא
Dir: Orit Fouks Rotem | 2021, 91 Min
Nine women, Arab and Jewish, take part in a video workshop hosted by Rona, a young film director, who teaches them how to document their lives. With each raw homemade footage shot by the women and shared with the others, the group dynamic forces them to challenge their views and beliefs as they get to know each other and themselves better.
*2021 Jerusalem International Film Festival – Winner Best Israeli First Feature
*2021 AFI – Official Selection
*2021 Chicago International Film Festival – Official Selection
PLAN A | תוכנית א׳
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Yoav & Doron Paz| 2021, 110 Min
Based on a true story. In 1945, a group of Jewish holocaust survivors planned to poison the water system in Germany in retribution for the murder of 6 million Jews. The film tells the dangerous and bold story of the secret-operation, named “Plan A”.
*2021 Haifa International Film Festival – Winner Best Artistic Achievement Award
Festival Guest: Actor Michael Aloni
DON’T WAIT FOR ME | אל תחכי לי
US PREMIERE
Dir: Danni Raisfeld and Roy Gluska | 2021, 88 Min
Matan moves to a violent neighborhood after his father goes bankrupt and loses their home. The family tries to pick up the pieces, but the reality makes it complicated. Matan falls in love with Eden and dreams of protecting her from the violent lifestyle.
Festival Guest: Actor Omer Hazan
MORE THAN I DESERVE | יותר ממה שמגיע לי
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Pini Tavger| 2021, 86 Min
Pinhas asks his single mother, Tamara, to join his classmates in preparing for their Bar Mitzvahs. Tamara, an immigrant from Ukraine, who resists religion, refuses. When the religious neighbor volunteers to help, the two form a strong bond. Gradually Tamara falls for him too. Will their romance last?
*2021 Jerusalem International Film Festival – Winner Best Screenplay
Festival Guest: Actress Anna Doubrovitsky
BERENSHTEIN| ברנשטיין
WEST COAST PREMIERE
Dir: Roman Shumunov | 2021, 110 Min
The last surviving member of the great partisans who located Hitler’s secret weapon, the V2 missile development facility, revisits his past as a soldier in World War II. By diving into his traumatic memories, he is forced to grapple with the dissociation and loss of identity that ensued after the war. Based on the true story of Leonid Berenshtein.
*2022 Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival – Audience Choice Award Winner
Festival Guest: Producer Ronen Machlis Balzam
THE DINNER | הארוחה
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Matti Harari, Arik Lubetzki| 2021, 78 Min
Emma and Gregory, Russian immigrants, are having a hard time adapting. They cross paths with Alon, an amateur artist and owner of a high-tech company who is in crisis with his wife Yael. Emma works as a nude model at Alon’s studio. By chance, Gregory starts working at Alon’s company. The truth comes out when Alon invites Gregory and Emma to a festive dinner in his home.
*2020 Warsaw International Film Festival – Official Selection
APRIL 7, 1980 | הלילה
NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE
Dir: Nadav Schirman| 2020, 84 Min
On April 7, 1980, terrorists infiltrated Kibbutz Misgav-Am but find themselves trapped in the children’s nursery with hostages less than four years old. Told from multiple perspectives, this is the true story of that night.
*2020 Jerusalem International Film Festival – Official Selection
*2020 Raindance Film Festival – Official Selection
THE SWIMMER | השחיין
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Adam Kalderon | 2021, 83 Min
Erez, a rising swimming star, arrives at a godforsaken training camp. The winner of the competition wins one ticket to the Olympics. And then there is Nevo, beautiful and gifted, who awakens subconscious desires in Erez.
*2022 Palm Springs International Film Festival – Official Selection
*2021 Jerusalem International Film Festival – Winner Best Actor
THE RAFT | הרפסודה
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Oded Raz | 2021, 90 Min
Three Israeli teens decide to build a raft and sail to the championship final in Cyprus. During their journey, their friendship will be put to the test as they will get a taste of first love and discover traits and skills in themselves that they didn’t know existed. The innocent adventure evolves into a coming-of-age journey they will never forget.
*2020 Zlin International Film Festival, Czech Republic – Official Selection
SAVING SHULI | לשחרר את שולי
Dir: Ben Bachar | 2021, 90 Min
US PREMIERE
Avihu, Nati, and Bezalel (“Ma Kashur” trio) go on a courageous rescuing journey that includes a wide range of legal and not-so-legal activities. Desire parties, organ trafficking, licking a psychedelic toad, and having some trouble with the Colombian Drug Cartel. Will they find Avihu’s son, Shuli? Will they find love? Can you find Jahnun in Colombia?! The answer to all these questions is: Ahlan, Ahlan, Ahlan!
ONE MORE STORY | עוד סיפור אחד
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Guri Alfi | 2021, 89 Min
Yarden Gat, is a young and brilliant journalist working on a famous newspaper. When she eventually decides to go on a date, she tells him that she slept with her boss and ruined her friend’s chance of having true love when she made him go out on a date each day of the month with a different woman, only to get a humiliating scoop for the newspaper.
HERE WE ARE | הנה אנחנו
Dir: Nir Bergman | 2020, 92 Min
Aharon has devoted his life to raising his son Uri. They live together in a gentle routine, away from the real world. But Uri is autistic, and now as a young adult it might be time for him to live in a specialized home. While on their way to the institution, Aharon decides to run away with his son and hits the road, knowing that Uri is not ready for this separation. Or is it, in fact, his father who is not ready?
*2020 Israeli Academy Ophir Awards – Winner: Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor & Supporting Actor
*2020 Cannes International Film Festival – Official Selection
TWO | שתיים
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Astar Elkayam | 2021, 81 Min
Omer and Bar are deeply in love when they decide to start a family through IVF treatments. Their journey begins full of excitement and support, but after many unsuccessful insemination attempts, their desperation grows and the women are forced to face the conflicts in their relationship.
*2021 TLV Fest – Opening Film
*2021 Inside Out Toronto – Official Selection
Festival Guest: Actress Agam Schuster
LET IT BE MORNING | ויהי בוקר
Dir: Eran Kolirin | 2021, 101 Min
Sami lives in Jerusalem with his wife and son. An invitation to his brother’s wedding forces him to return to the Arabic village where he grew up. After the wedding, with no explanation, the village is put under lockdown by Israeli soldiers. Chaos rises overnight among those stuck within the walls. Cut off from the outside world, trapped in an unexpected situation, Sami watches as everything falls apart.
*Israel’s Oscar Submission
*2021 Israeli Academy Ophir Awards – Winner of 15 Awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Cinematography, etc.)
*2021 Cannes International Film Festival – Official Selection
*2021 Haifa International Film Festival – Winner: Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor
DOCUMENTARIES
SPEER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD | שפאר בדרך להוליווד
Dir: Vanessa Lapa| 2021, 97 Min
How did a man in charge of 12 million slaves become “the good Nazi”? A cautionary tale about Albert Speer’s 1971 attempt to whitewash his past with a Hollywood adaptation of his bestselling wartime memoir, “Inside the Third Reich”.
*2021 Jerusalem International Film Festival – Winner Best Director
*2021 Israeli Academy Ophir Awards – Winner Best Documentary
*2021 Telluride Film Festival – Official Selection
*2020 Berlinale – Official Selection
QUEEN SHOSHANA| המלכה שושנ
WEST COAST PREMIERE
Dir: Kobi Farag, Morris Ben-Mayor| 2021, 110 Min
Shoshana Damari was the first Israeli diva. She graced local and international stages, stirring millions with her beguiling voice and spectacular performance. Yet, behind the larger-than-life persona and her memorable songs was a woman about whom we know little. She didn’t like to be interviewed and never volunteered details about herself and her family. Hers was the life of a Hollywood legend, and she paid the price for it.
*2021 DocAviv – Official Selection and Opening Film
THE FOURTH WINDOW| החלון הרביעי
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Yair Qedar | 2021, 86 Min
Behind the international success story of Amos Oz, a symbol of the Israeli conscience and a writer translated into 45 languages, lurked a double tragedy. A series of conversations with his latest biographer presented in the film, weaves biographical passages, literature, and conversations with the main people in his life, as Amos Oz tells his last story.
*2021 DocAviv – Official Selection
*2021 Mumbai International Film Festival – Winner Best Documentary
*2021 Warsaw International Film Festival – Official Selection
Festival Guest: Director Yair Qedar
APPLES AND ORANGES| תוצרת חוץ
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Yoav Brill | 2021, 80 Min
Some 350,000 volunteers came to work in Israel’s Kibbutzim during the second half of the 20th Century. The eventual decline of this movement is a tale of many conflicts: from politics to religion, cultural clashes, and personal heartbreaks.
*2021 DocAviv – Official Selection
*2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival – Official Selection
DEAD SEA GUARDIANS| שומרי ים המוות
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Ido Glass, Yoav Kleinman| 2022, 76 Min
The Dead Sea – the lowest place on earth and one of the wonders of the world – is dying. Three historic enemies join forces on a heroic journey to stop this catastrophe and save the Dead Sea from disappearing.
*2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival – Official Selection
*2021 Haifa International Film Festival – Official Selection
WOMEN OF VALOR| חיל אשת
WEST COAST PREMIERE
Dir: Anna Somershaf| 2021, 75 Min
Ultra-Orthodox women are forbidden to run for Israeli parliament. One woman is determined to change this historic ban. Fighting against her own community with her friends, brings a huge personal price, but Esty Shushan won’t stop until she
achieves equal rights for 600,000 women.
*2021 Jerusalem International Film Festival – Official Selection
BLUE BOX | קופסה כחולה
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Michal Weits| 2021, 82 Min
The Jewish National Fund’s Blue Boxes were part of a successful fundraising campaign to support the purchase of land in Palestine. Joseph Weits, the filmmaker’s grandfather, was the man who orchestrated the acquisition and expropriation of Palestinian lands. Weits’s private diaries reveal an uncomfortable truth.
*2021 DocAviv – Winner Research Award
*2021 Hot Docs – Official Selection
RIDING WITH A SPY|להיות ענת קם
US PREMIERE
Dir: Shlomi Eldar | 2021, 92 Min
After being convicted of espionage, ostracized by her people, and marked as a traitor, Israeli whistleblower Anat Kamm tried to rebuild her life in NYC, but her past still haunts her. Unable to find employment and extend her visa, she is forced to return to Israel. In her last months in the US, Kamm goes on a cross-country road trip to meet the American hero Daniel Ellsberg and escape as much as she can the reality of becoming again,” The Anat Kamm”.
*2021 DocAviv – Official Selection
Festival Guest: Producer Ehud Bleiberg
SUMMER NIGHTS|לילות קיץ
WEST COAST PREMIERE
Dir: Ohad Milstein | 2021, 53 Min
How does the world look through the eyes of a 6-year-old child? Summer Nights offers a window into a child’s world: his fears, his desires, his way of thinking. It is a journey into the subconscious of an innocent and ingenuous child, as he falls asleep and drifts into the depths of his own mind.
*2021 Israeli Academy Ophir Awards – Winner Best Short Documentary
*2021 DocAviv – Winner Best Film
*2022 SXSW EDU – Official Selection
HIGH MAINTENANCE: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DANI KARAVAN| דני קרוון
WEST COAST PREMIERE
Dir: Barak Heyman| 2021, 66 Min
As he approaches 90, Dani Karavan embarks on an emotional, political journey. On route, the complex and fascinating character of one of the greatest artists of our time is revealed.
*2020 Jerusalem International Film Festival – Winner Best Editing
*2021 Hot Docs – Official Selection
GROSSMAN| גרוסמן
LA PREMIERE
Dir: Adi Arbel | 2021, 54 Min
An intimate, exposed and rare portrait of Israeli author, David Grossman, who rarely gives interviews, yet allows the viewers into the depths of his workroom/study and shares these honest, private and intimate insights on camera, and exposes the delicate and complex connection between his novels and his personal life.
*2021 DocAviv – Official Selection
THE LAST CHAPTER OF A.B. YEHOSHUA|הפרק האחרון של אב יהושוע
WEST COAST PREMIERE
Dir: Yair Qedar | 2021, 58 Min
The story of A.B. Yehoshua, the greatest Israeli writer living today – who is dealing with a serious illness, widowhood and loneliness, chooses love and embarks on his final journey. A rare and fascinating look at one of our beloved writers.
*2021 Jerusalem International Film Festival – Official Selection
Festival Guest: Director Yair Qedar
ON THIS HAPPY NOTE| סוף טוב – ענת גוב
US PREMIERE
Dir: Tamar Tal Anati | 2021, 65 Min
As she prepares to die, playwright Anat Gov asks literary agent Arik Kneller to execute her will. Their last documented conversation touches upon life, death, and her writings. Consciously accepting her nearing end, Anat leaves behind a spiritual legacy: there is such a thing as a happy ending.
*2021 DocAviv – Official Selection
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The mission of the ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL is to highlight Israel as the lively and innovative nation that it is, as well as to shine a spotlight on its thriving film and television industry and enriching the American experience of Israel’s social and cultural diversity. As an international entertainment industry event, the festival has brought acclaim to both the films and participants and has opened new possibilities for cooperation and co-production between the U.S. and Israeli film and TV industries. Each year, the festival explores Israeli society by premiering Israeli features, documentaries and television dramas, and through conversations with visiting Israeli filmmakers. Since its inception thirty-five years ago, the festival has created an exciting and artistic platform for engaging diverse audiences with the richness of Israeli life and culture. The co-chairs of the Festival are Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, CEO, Variety and Stacey Farish, President, Deadline. The Festival honorary chairman is Arnon Milchan, New Regency Productions.
For nearly four decades, the Festival has presented more than 1,100 feature films, documentaries, television dramas and short films to nearly one million filmgoers, and brought hundreds of Israeli filmmakers to the U.S. to share their art. The ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL is produced by IsraFest Foundation, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization created in 1982. Some of the sponsors for the 35th ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL include: Adelson Family Foundation, Advanced Security Concepts, CA Relief Grant Programs for the Arts and Cultural Non-profits, Consulate General of Israel, LA, David Wiener & Family, Deadline, Diane & Guilford Glazer Foundation, Drissi Creative Studios, Hollywood Foreign Press Association HFPA, In Sync Plus, Israel Ministry of Tourism, Jewish Community Foundation Los Angeles, Keshet International, Lamar Advertising, Millennium Media, Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, Molly & Israel Weinberg, New Mandate Films, New Regency Productions, Robert & Beverly Cohen, The Maurice Marciano Family Foundation, Rabinovich Foundation, Valley National Bank and Variety, among others.
