What to Expect at the 35th Annual Israel Film Fest
The 35th edition of the Israel Film Fest will hit area theaters throughout the month of May, marking its return to in-person screenings for the first time since 2019.
The 35th edition of the Israel Film Fest will hit area theaters throughout the month of May, marking its return to in-person screenings for the first time since 2019.
Films can show a country’s humor, history, obsessions and pride, and although big-star features get most of the attention, it is the sharply focused documentary that frequently cuts to the heart of the matter.
It’s springtime in Los Angeles, which means raising the curtain on the 26th Israel Film Festival, this year displaying a colorful palette of more than 30 feature movies, documentaries, TV shows and student shorts.
Suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are daunting topics, even for risk-taking young Israeli directors, but two feature movies on the subject screening at the Israel Film Festival are remarkable for their unexpected sensitivity and humanity.
Shmuel Beru was around 12 years old in 1989 when Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” stunned audiences with its provocative story of racial conflict between African and Italian Americans in New York.
Less than a month after Israeli filmmakers proved a strong presence at the Cannes Film Festival, the 24th Israel Film Festival will play in Los Angeles June 3-18, with a lineup showing how Israeli cinema has recently emerged as a contender on the global scene.
Two documentaries, two mysteries: the life and death of a family of Holocaust survivors attempting to rebuild their lives in an Israel ravaged by war; the other reveals the life and death of a Greek musician attempting to build his career as a pop star in Israel, seeking normalcy through music.
“Lost Islands,” which will kick off the Israel Film Festival at its June 3 opening gala, begins with Avraham Levi demonstrating his concept of family loyalty to his wife and five sons.
Film producer Branko Lustig, who will receive the Israel Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award on June 3, is probably the only child Holocaust survivor with two Oscars on his mantle shelf.
Israel’s film industry continues to add notches to its belt in the same way Israelis do just about everything: swiftly and assertively. During the past two years, Israel campaigned furiously and succeeded in scoring back-to-back Academy Award nominations for best foreign film.