Discoveries from Israel World Cinema

A tale based on Shalom Alechem stories.

Soccer mania hits Beit She'an, a small working-class Israeli town near the Jordanian border, when the local team prepares for their last crucial game of the season, against the rich, national champions from Haifa, exacerbating conflicts between rich and poor, small town and big city, and minorities and the ruling class.

Andrei, a new immigrant from the former Soviet Union, discovers that in order to save his sick father's life he must find a large sum of money that is well beyond his means. At the same time, Andrei and his two good friends, Zura and Marat, also living alone in the country, try to achieve their dream to be heard and understood via the rap music. Andrei decides to get the money for the medicine his father so desperately needs at all costs. This is a story about the solitude of the new immigrants and their endless struggle to survive, to be accepted and to be a part of Israeli society.

באפריל 2005 פתח עברי לידר את סיבוב ההופעות "זה לא אותו דבר" במופע בכורה חגיגי ובלתי נשכח. המופע, ששמר על הצליל החי והמיוחד של האלבום, מתועד ב-DVD הכולל את שירי אלבומו המצליח ומיטב להיטיו הגדולים של עברי בעיבודים חדשים: "הכוס הכחולה", "חולצת פסים", "לאונרדו", "בוא" ואחרים. כמו כן, מבצע עברי שירים שלא ביצע בעבר: "עטוף ברחמים" עם ריטה וביצוע שונה ומיוחד ל"אדוני" (של רוני). על הבמה ליוו את עברי 9 נגנים (ביניהם רביעיית כלי מיתר), אשר יחדיו העניקו למופע צביון רוקי ואנרגטי. מעבר לכך, הכריזמה הבימתית של עברי מגובה בסאונד ותאורה ייחודיים, כשהפעם התווסף גם וידאו ארט מרשים וחדשני. עבודת הסאונד נעשתה בלונדון באולפנו של יועד נבו והתוצאה – הסאונד המתקדם ביותר (DTS 5.1).

A young, idealistic female Israeli military investigator confronts an elite commander with accusations of unnecessary violence in the Occupied Territories. Her integrity and determination are put to the test as the case proves less black-and-white than it originally seemed.

Inventing Our Life examines the 100 year history of Israel's kibbutz movement, one of the world's longest running and most successful experiments in pure communism. Recreating its glorious past and chronicling its recent decline, Inventing Our Life focuses on the heartbreak and hope of the modern kibbutz, as a new generation struggles to insure its survival. Can a radically socialist institution survive a new market-driven reality with its ideological integrity intact? How will this affect the lives of the tens of thousands of people who still believe in the kibbutz experiment and continue to call it home? As the film progresses, the drama shifts from Can it survive? to Yes, but at what price?

Yotam came back from the army. He met his dad. He met his mom. He took his girlfriend for a ride. Yotam came back home, but something went wrong on the way. Gripping drama where silence shouts louder than words.

Bazooka Joe and his gang read the future tellings, which say they will get to the moon by age 21.

Mirka, new to the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish world, makes her way from the back of a gender-segregated bus to the front, to save her celiac son Raphael from a cookie containing gluten. This simple act constitutes a challenge to the conventions of the society in which Mirka lives and to which she tries to belong.

Johnny is a B movies director. He meets Mia, a young Julia Roberts look-alike. Johnny decides to create an Israeli version of "Pretty Woman" with Mia. As he falls in love with the fantasy, his film turns into reality.

Mazuz, a gritty detective and military photographer is assigned a partner, Cohen. Together they investigate a series of mysterious murders where the killer is taking the victims liver.

The story of a family who become a surrogate family for a couple that has lost all hope of having children. The surrogate couple aim the camera at themselves from the moment they make the decision.

A distinctive and potent take on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that feels divorced from larger political or cultural concerns. Instead, the film chronicles a small, surreal world detached from reality — a place where Palestinian homes were turned into soldiers’ party playgrounds — and a contemporary effort by those soldiers to make sense of their former selves.

Nina (Fanny Ardant) is a French concert pianist, Ilan (Sharon Alexander) is an Israeli computer specialist visiting Paris. A romance springs up between them, and they get married. Not long afterward, Ilan is called into the Israeli army to serve his obligatory tour of duty. Things are heating up with Saddam Hussein (it is just before the Gulf War), who has just invaded Kuwait. Nina receives a call from the military informing her that her husband was wounded in combat. She rushes to his side and soon discovers that he was wounded by Israeli soldiers while he was in the process of deserting his post. It is clear from his own zombie-fied behavior that this allegation is true. Despite this horrifying revelation, she still loves him, but becomes increasingly estranged from the society around her because she feels shunned. On top of all this, she must soon make her concert debut with the Israel Philharmonic.

Like many, another young Israeli, Rafi never gave much thought to the fact that when he reached a certain age, he would be expected to serve in the Israeli Army and that he would experience active duty in combat. It certainly never occurred to him that he might be injured, and if it did, it never occurred to him that he would be crippled, as he was. Now he must try to learn to cope with a life which is vastly different from anything he ever imagined, and at first he has nothing but bitterness. An older veteran tries to help him learn to cope, and his relatives work hard to adjust as well. However, only his sister-in-law Maya seems to understand his state of mind and doesn't freak out at his easily provoked displays of temper.

A documentary produced by the Center for Culture and Education and the Agricultural Center of the General Federation of Workers in the Land of Israel. On the arid, water-scarce hills of the Jordan Valley, more and more Jewish settlements are being established and built, such as Petzael, Naaran, Argaman, and Gilgal. These settlements, despite the lack of water and the intense heat, are becoming agricultural communities that attract young people and families. Residents of Gilgal describe life in the settlement, working in the intense heat during the day in the fields or in the sprinkler factory, and watching movies together in the evening. The film ends with a report on the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War.

During the holidays, when the ice cream truck come to the neighborhood, 11 years old Yair come down to buy one, but everyday he got humiliated by the other boys in the neighborhood. One after-noon - the ice cream seller will teach Yair how to hit back. From this moment - everything is going to change.

This highly revealing self documentation, follows Zohar Wagner, a 38 years old, single mother, provocative performance artist, exploring her sexuality while pregnant and after birth.

In a story reminiscent of the Biblical tale “The Binding of Isaac”, taking place in 1988 Kyiv, 8-year-old Max must make a fateful decision as his family prepares to immigrate to Israel.

A family united under one roof, in grief, in the summer. A boy and a girl – cousins – experience that first burst of emotion and hormonal explosion which comes to us all at a certain age. a gripping tale of first love and betrayal.

Guy is a shy 16 year-old with a big secret. He has superpowers. Following an encounter with another classmate at school. Guy is forced to face his fears and learn to trust his powers. Ultimately leading Guy to finally confront his abusive father.

Oren (24) is a transgender in the closet, feels he is a woman and not a man and hides it from all of his family and friends. Oren lives in Jaffa with his single mom. His childhood in his hometown forced him to develop a tough and sometimes scary appearance, so that he would not suffer from bullying. Oren's dream is to be accepted to the best fashion school in the country "Shenkar", and through being a fashion designer to break the gender rules and design clothes that challenge the "masculine" and "feminine" clothing accepted in society.

Being filmed is not for everybody, especially not for those who can't act.

In the 1990s, Israel established sites for Russian and Ethiopian immigrants. Abraham, a 9-year-old immigrant from Ethiopia, teaches himself Russian in order to survive the difficult conditions, and creates a unique bond with Marina, his neighbor who immigrated from Russia.

Between the hills of the West Bank and the Mediterranean coast, filmed on an iPhone over the past year.

Carlos is a kids' soccer coach. "The best in the country," at least according to his ex-wife. He wants to move up a league on the pitch and in his personal life, but his self-destructive nature leaves him feeling out of place. His demands are too high, driving players to quit, and his son Shahar isn't always willing to open the door for him. As Shahar pulls away, Carlos realizes he needs to change his approach, but he still feels like an outsider. He can’t find the comfort he needs from his mother, and goes to political protests mainly to find love. But Carlos has another, hidden love. Will he manage to make a real change?

The borders of Israel are fraught with high tension. Since October 7th, uncertainty about the enemy’s next move has left residents in a state of perpetual anxiety. The pressure leads to bizarre situations, with no clear end in sight. Stories oscillate between tangible borders and imagined ones, painting a picture of a society struggling to rise from the ashes.

Kesem hasn't spoken in years. Living in a small kibbutz, she communicates only through notes — words she can write but never say. Having long lost her faith in love, she believes it belongs only in the movies. But when life keeps confronting her with other people's love stories, Kesem finds herself standing at a fragile crossroads between cynicism and hope, and one silent gesture from Itay, her childhood friend, might finally break the walls she built around her heart.

He’s a vampire, he’s gay and he is absolutely here to stay.

a girl that does dr0gs and then starts to imagine that her stuffed duck plushy became human and started playing board games with her

A former actor whose glory years have passed is dealing with the difficulties that come with failure.

History revolves around the Alexander Column on Palace Square, as if it were a cursed axis of time.

A short film based on Nunu's album of the same name

a tragic story about a phone

During a busy election day, Yaron, a polling place manager, must contend with his work environment and his own pressure.

Danny Kushmaro arrives at the most mysterious and isolated place in the world, the Amazon. What happened in the 48 hours he was there? What did the tribe he met there by chance do to him? And what was in the potion they gave him to drink?

girl loves math and hate everyone

Two teen best friends grow up together and love getting into trouble. When Ohad is diagnosed with only 2 more months to live due to heart disease, his best friend makes a plan for them to rob a convenience store for the big bottle of vodka they always wanted.

IT'S FINALLY HERE! The second sratim noshim tekes!

Gaia lives in a world where the end of the world is expected. Global warming, an environmental catastrophe, a flying meteorite - all this causes constant alarm. During yoga, she tries to control the impossible. Her anxiety is absurdly woven into every asana.

Cinema Palestine features interviews with a wide range of film and media makers as well as excerpts from award-winning films to outline the emergence of the Palestinian narrative through film. Cinema Palestine also explores the implications of this important cinema on Palestinian national identity and the relationship between art, personal experience, and politics.

Animations from a course at The Animation Center - Tel Aviv Cinematheque, winter.

Aya is a trans girl who is frustrated by her love life and experiences with men. An accidental encounter with a man from her distant past causes her to reconnect with her identity.

two Policemen are required to investigate a new murder attempt that happened in town, Who tried to kill the one and only - The time lord?

Yoni is a gay Israeli who lives in London and works for “EL AL”. Yoni realises that the only way to live his London fantasy is to find local housemates. Random encounters keep reminding Yoni where he’s from.

Talia and Reut meet at the Alternative Civilian Service. Their friendship becomes romantic. When their mothers find out, they separate the girls. Then something unexpected happens. Is it possible that the relationship that everyone is fighting against, is God’s plan?

Danna, a young college student, and Yael, a woman with an intellectual disability, are forced to face the difficulties that arise in their love lives. In the end, they realize that their bond with each other is what gives them both the support they need.

After twenty years of screening films about courageous individuals, the Festival finally gets an opportunity to honour a local hero! For 28 years, she was the best-kept secret in the Jewish world. Even though Syrian Jews were denied the right to emigrate, they had heard that there was a mysterious woman called "Mrs. Judy" who was working secretly to help them. To the world around her, Judy Feld Carr was a mother of six, a musicologist, and a synagogue president in Toronto, Canada. Clandestinely, she was a one-woman secret organization, who succeeded in enabling 3,228 Jews to be brought to freedom. Most of those rescued had no idea who was responsible for their release. Her amazing story is told for the first time on film.

Home is the story of four generations of a family of Russian Americans, descendants of the Golitsyns, a distinguished princely family. After fleeing Russia, they made their way to France, and from there to the United States. For more than two decades now they have lived in Alaska. This former Russian territory in some mysterious way provides a link if not to their native country, then to their Fatherland, which none of them has ever seen. In its wanderings this large family has not preserved material treasures, but rather their nobility and dignity—the foundation upon with their Home was built.

Evyatar, a teenager with a tendency to curse (a lot), falls in love with Shani, the new girl in class, and finds redemption through her. Will love make Evya change his behavior?