The 39th Jerusalem Film Festival Announces the Israeli Lineup

The Haggiag Competition for Israeli Feature Films

June O

Director: Jake Paltrow (The Good Night, De Palma)

Sales: Films Boutique

Israeli Premiere

Based on true events. The days leading up to Eichmann’s execution through three unlikely heroes: a teenage boy factory worker, Eichmann's chief prison guard, and Investigator and a holocaust survivor, on his first trip back to Poland. Premiered at Karlovy Vary.

Valeria Is Getting Married

Director: Michal Vinik (Blush, San Sebastian 2015)

Sales: m-appeal

World Premiere

Christina is a Ukrainian bride who marries an Israeli man. Her younger sister Valeria is arriving today to meet her own Israeli husband and is supposed to follow in her older sister's footsteps. But Valeria is struggling with her decision, forcing both sisters to reconsider the choices they have made.

Barren  

Director: Mordechai Vardi  

World Premiere

A childless young ultraorthodox couple faces a crisis after a traumatic treatment for barrenness. When the difference between good and bad is unclear, the family must deal with unresolved secrets that raise fundamental questions about religion and faith. 

America 

Director: Ofir Raul Graizer (The Cakemaker, Karlovy Vary 2017)

Sales: Beta Cinema

Israeli Premiere

An Israeli man returns to Israel after 10 years of absence. An encounter with a childhood friend and his future-wife will change everyone’s lives. A story set between a flower shop and an ancient monastery, a swimming pool and the Mediterranean Sea, life and death - and somewhere in the middle. Premiered at Karlovy Vary.

Karaoke 

Director: Moshe Rosenthal

Sales: Charades

Israeli Premiere

The world of Meir and Tova, a middle-class couple in their 60’s, is shaken up when Itsik - a pleasure seeking bachelor with a fondness for karaoke - moves into their building, causing a stir in their lives. Premiered at Tribeca.

Concerned Citizen 

Director: Idan Haguel (Inertia, Berlinale Forum)

Sales: m-appeal

Israeli Premiere

Ben tries to help improve his impoverished neighborhood by planting a tree. Consequently, he becomes involved in the brutal police arrest of a neighboring immigrant. Leading him on a guilt trip that threatens his relationship with his boyfriend and their aspirations for fatherhood. Premiered at Berlinale Panorama.

All I Can Do 

Director: Shiri Nevo Fridental

World Premiere

Reut, a young prosecutor, takes over a sexual assault case, based on the sole testimony of Efrat - a rebellious yet fragile victim, who lives with her wild female partner. Reut is reluctant, but as the trial progresses and Efrat collapses, Reut learns the true nature of strength, love and sisterhood.

35 Downhill  

Director: Yona Rozenkier (The Dive, Locarno 2018)

World Premiere

Ben arrives to his native Kibbutz and plans to ask his distant father Albert to help him recover a family apartment looted in WWII. But Albert has other plans... Completely drunk, he has bet that he could cross the country from north to south on a tractor in less than a week.

The Diamond Competition for Israeli Documentary Films

Egypt, A Love Song 

Director: Iris Zaki 

World Premiere

Director Iris Zaki embarks on an intimate journey with her father, exploring the extraordinary story of her legendary, Egyptian singer grandmother: Souad Zaki. A hybrid cinematic project that crosses nations, cultures, and religions. 

Savoy

Director: Zohar Wagner 

World Premiere

Kochava Levi, a 31-year-old housewife of Yemeni descent, was taken hostage during an attack on the Savoy hotel in Tel Aviv (March 1975). Over the course of one night, she transformed herself into a fearless heroine. However, by dawn, she was left with nothing but shame.  

The Soldier's Opinion

Director: Assaf Banitt 

World Premiere

Over the span of fifty years, the Israeli military censorship secretly copied soldiers' personal letters, extracting their views on the most contentious issues facing Israeli society. The findings were presented to leaders in a top-secret report identified as “The Soldier’s Opinion”.

To Cure Longing

Director: Artyom Dubitski 

World Premiere

The filmmaker is taken on a life changing journey that forces him to cope with transgenerational trauma. At the age of 30, he travels along with his father to Russia to meet his grandmother for the first time. She opens a window to the past and an opportunity to heal the future.

Two Kids A Day

Director: David Wachsmann 

Sales: First Hand Films

World Premiere

On average, two Palestinian kids are arrested every night by the Israeli army. They are interrogated, tried, and sent to prison. Two Kids A Day describes the use of minors' arrests to control and repress Palestinian society.

Living in the Shadow of Death

Director: Bilal Yusef 

World Premiere

With daily acts of gun violence and over 382 civilians killed since 2019 – life in Israel’s Arab communities is unbearable. The filmmaker, unable to provide his young family with a basic notion of security, embarks on a journey to understand the limited options he has left. 

The Partisan with The Leica Camera

Director: Ruth Walk 

Sales: Go2Films

World Premiere

The story of Mundek Lukawiecki and his wife Hannah Bern, who fought the Nazis with the Polish partisans and hid in the forests. Mundek not only employed his bravery and cunning, but also his Leica camera, giving us a rare glimpse into the life of the partisans.

Special Screenings - Out of Competition

Je t’aime Ronit Elkabetz (Documentary)

Director: Moran Ifergan 

World Premiere

An archival montage of the Israeli late director and actress Ronit Elkabetz told through the radical collection of her extraordinary wardrobe. A cinematic essay film about the power of cinema, of clothes and of one unforgettable woman standing for and embodying the deepest human desire for freedom and liberty.

Homeboys (Documentary)

Director: Tamar Goren 

World Premiere

Samuel and Isaac are South Sudanese teenage refugees, who grew up in Israel but were deported. They now live in Uganda, and dream of making their musical talent known to the world. Amir, an Israeli musician, arrives to work with them, to try to make their dreams come true, within this complex reality.

Atash (Thirst) | 2004 (Newly restored)

Director: Tawfik Abu-Wael | Producer: Avi Kleinberger (Charupe) 

A family of five, their two goats and donkey, live in the middle of nowhere, not far from their native village. When the father decides to provide running water for the family by illegally diverting water onto their land, the newly free-flowing water re-awakens the instinctive desire for freedom they have been repressing all these years, causing a rift in the family. A new digital copy restored by the Israel Film Archive at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, in collaboration with the film’s director and cinematographer.

A Hole in the Moon | 1964 (Newly restored)

Director: Uri Zohar 

A special screening in honor of Uri Zohar, who recently passed away.

A wild, zany parody of Israel in the early 1960s. Zohar is a new immigrant who opens a kiosk in the middle of nowhere. The absence of clients doesn’t deter Heffner from opening a competing business directly across the road. A new digital copy restored by the Israel Film Archive at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, in collaboration with the film’s cinematographer, David Gurfinkel. 

Short Film Competition

God’s Mountain Tamar Tal Anati | The Sky is Falling Stephan Stelman | God Child Daniel Dahan | Killing Ourselves Maya Yadlin | Letter to a Pig Tal Kantor | Adane and Yaleo Oz Zirlin | Your Bad Animals Ido Shapira, Amit Cohen | It's a Matter of Hours or Days Efrat Lipshitz | Descent Oriel Bejell | Man's Best Friend Gaya Elstein | Mika/2300 Boaz Frankel, Omri Van-Essen | Wednesdays Rona Segal | Up in Arms Shelly Carmel | Three Oranges Ben Braiman, Shachar Levi | Flora Yuval Naim | Fucking Paradise Shahar Shabtay | How to Survive the Heatwave and Stay Human Ronni Shalev, Alon Sharabi | Assi Doesn't Live Here Neta Murat, Rotem Murat | Lot's Wife Ori Birger