Discoveries from Israel World Cinema

The situation outside is not promising. Luckily there's a TV that can calm the panic... isn't it?

A documentary about a group of Israeli teenagers and their weirdly dramatic journey through the development of their movie, and through life in the Israeli South.

In a small and conservative town in the south, a LGBT theater ensemble is rehearsing for the play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. That same night, an illegal party goes down in the local highschool, at the end of which one of the students is found unconscious. Evidence in the scene lead to a police investigation, can a "witch hunt" really happen in Israel of 2025?

Zohar is a lazy, closeted bisexual granddaughter who hates magic and lives with her Syrian witch grandmother. When her grandmother is injured because of her, Zohar is forced to inherit the family’s magical powers. Together, they open the first Shishbarak stand in Kiryat Ono, through which Zohar learns that magic—like her sexual attraction—should be embraced as a strength, not a source of shame.

Prozak – The Show is a live comedy special by the Israeli trio Prozak, consisting of Yuval Semo, Shlomi Koriat, and Ofir Lobel. Known for their unique blend of visual humor, musical skits, and over-the-top characters, the group became a cultural phenomenon in Israel during the early 2000s. The 2004 stage show captures their best material, including original sketches, absurd songs, and audience-favorite characters that later influenced their individual careers on television and film. Combining slapstick, satire, and witty wordplay, the trio delivers a performance that is both nostalgic and timeless, showcasing why they were one of Israel’s most beloved comedy groups. Country: Israel Language: Hebrew (with some songs/skits) Cast: Yuval Semo, Shlomi Koriat, Ofir Lobel Runtime: ~70 minutes

The daily life in a Sephardic neighborhood in Jerusalem during the 1930s. Matters between men and women, fathers and sons, neighbors and friends. Scattered between the scenes are songs of love and pain, happiness and sorrow - romanzas that have stood the test of time, passed down through the generations and sung to this day with great feeling and longing by members of the Sephardic community.

A woman gets a death certificate.

Based on David Grossman’s Itamar Stories series.

A sensational discovery in Great Britain provides new insights into the life and death of the Roman Empire. It is the first intact skeleton of a Roman crucifixion victim ever discovered. A forensic investigation is being carried out on it - with CT scans, DNA profiling, isotope analysis and state-of-the-art forensic imaging technology.

In 1991, the Moscow director Yevgeny Aryeh, with a handful of emigrants from the USSR, founded the Gesher Theater in Israel, which means “bridge” in Hebrew. Bridge between people. Bridge between cultures. And now between art forms. After all, "Eternal Rehearsal" is a fusion of theater and documentary films, a bridge between their languages.

The touching illness diary, written by Noam’s parents on Facebook, swept away crowds. All were drawn to the story of a brilliant young woman who coped with rare cancer with her girlfriend’s support. Thousands attended the Shiva, documented day and night.

A short animated film about two friends who watch together as acid rain washes over the city. The stormy weather outside reflects the feelings of Ariel, who realizes that this is her last chance to confess her feelings to Sophie. Before Sophie leaves the apartment, Ariel plucks up courage and the two kiss against the background of the brightening view outside the window.

"I See You" paints a poignant portrait of Danny Layani, who, after 25 years of total blindness, regains his sight and sees his wife and four children for the very first time. However, the newfound light in Danny's life begins to dim, taking a sharp turn. Through intimate family archives and meticulous animated paintings, Danny shares his captivating story of resilience, self-discovery, and the profound power of perspective.

Orr and his father planned to go on a trip, but when his father doesn't return home from work Orr goes looking for him. In his journey he is exposed to the city's alienated streets, to the desires and games of the people who live in it.

"I didn't look for the mandolin: it found me." By chance, as a child, Avi Avital discovered a passion for this modest stringed instrument, traditionally associated with popular music and amateur performances. His first teacher, a violinist by profession, inspired him to defy the limits of genre and learn to play classical music. The Israeli musician has now become the mandolin's greatest ambassador, performing sensitive arrangements of baroque pieces the world over.

The film brings for the first time the story of the Israeli radio station Beit Shidir. With the establishment of the State of Israel and the immigration of Jews from Arab countries, the radio station was an active site for producing intelligence and political warfare against Arab countries in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. From the outside, it was a radio station that broadcast news and songs in Arabic, whereas in practice, the broadcasts were used by the administration for propaganda, psychological warfare, changing public opinion in Arab countries, and activating agents through codes implanted within the broadcasts. Soon the broadcasts became the most terrifying threat that agitated the rulers of the Arab world, and the broadcasters in it were named by the competing radio stations ‘The Israel Broadcasting Corporation’s Propaganda Orchestra’.

This hybrid documentary utilizes animation, archival footage and live testimony to dramatize the untold story of a women’s underground resistance operation in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Risking their lives, these courageous women smuggled gun powder out the munitions factory where they worked, with the goal of blowing up the gas chambers. The diary of Anna Wajcblum, one of the saboteurs whose sister was publicly hanged after being caught, forms the basis for the film. After the war, Anna became a social worker in Ottawa. Her diary highlights the bonds of friendship established between these women under the most horrific circumstances.

Two corrupt IDF officers who resale lands in the West Bank put pressure on a Palestinian family man.

A young and introverted trans woman faces loneliness in the big city and tries to find love.

Meir Eshel, a 22-year-old beach-boy from Southern Israel, buys a one-way ticket to Paris and re-invents himself as an artist calling himself Absalon. He quickly rises to art-scene stardom, showcased by the most prestigious museums worldwide: the Venice Bienalle, Centre Pompidou Paris, Tate Modern Gallery London, Israel Museum. Absalon’s success was short-lived – almost 7 years pass since his arrival in Paris until his tragic death, during the peak of his success at the age of 28. More than 25 years later, his younger brother Dani Eshel’s first assignment as estate manager – is to sell Absalon’s final art piece. Through his journey we learn about the life of a unique Israeli artist.

Guy (34) Is taking a little break at his grandfather's house, Eli (92). Spending time together revile beautiful and calm intimacy between two men, that 60 years age difference is between them. This is a poetic and spiritual film that Raises questions of sexuality, gender differences, immigration, belonging, loneliness and love.

A photo found by the filmmaker at her grandmother’s house after her death seemed strange. She has a pregnant belly. But she had told the story of adopting the director’s father because she was not able to conceive. Her old friends explained the kibbutz decided state-building efforts preclude giving birth, and she had an abortion that damaged her womb. This set the director’s curiosity about her biological grandmother. The adoption file told of Shoshana, 16, an Iraqi immigrant who got pregnant out of wedlock. Her sister revealed that the family abused her but she refused to give up the baby, who was eventually taken from her. Both suffered patriarchal oppression and remained silent. The grandmothers’ stories led the filmmaker to confront her parents about her own silence on sexual abuse in the family. For the sake of the three, she must break silence.

Lev, a 54-year-old divorced Orthodox Jew, attends conversion therapy hoping to be remarried to a woman. He attends one-on-one therapy sessions and group therapy, trying to diminish his unwanted same-sex attractions. At the same time, Ben, a 23-year-old social work student, seven years into conversion therapy, starts having doubts. In the Jewish Orthodox world, where he grew up, he was taught homosexuality is a fault that one can “cure”, but when he went to university, he was surprised to discover conversion therapy is considered harmful and dangerous. Ben sets out on a research to discover the truth about conversion therapy, and learns that the way out is harder and more winding than he thought.

Nati, an officer in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is heading south with three soldiers in order to perform a very complicated mission.

Writer/director Nurit Kedar's film trains a camera on the snipers of the frontline in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She goes out on patrol with active units, and interviews marksmen young and old. It can't have been easy to gain the confidence of the Israeli army or the trust of the individuals concerned, but, regrettably, the film isn't particularly illuminating. 'What do you want me to say?' asks one bluff veteran. Shame and defiance rub shoulders. 'I won't be allowed in heaven,' notes one rueful conscript. Occasionally Kedar hits on the madness; the game of it; the sick decorum. They're meant to shoot at the arms and legs of the stone throwers. 'I used to say I was responsible for a lot of legless Palestinians,' proffers a soldier. 'I would never say that now.'

Nadia and Chanoch have shared the same desk in their class in the Kfar Haroeh elementary school. In the course of their eight years together Chanoch was never conscious of the difference between them - Chanoch, a religious Jew, born and raised in Kfar Haroeh - the "jewel" of the religious Zionist movement - and Nadia - an Arab Muslim, born to the Abu - Isa family who lived (and still live) near the Kfar Haroeh village. Nadia's Friends is a film about a journey to the past, to what was once the religious Zionism and to what it is today, to old friends and to the rift that grew between them over the years.

Following a short trip to visit his family back in India, Raj returns to Israel and his work as caregiver to an elderly man, only to be greeted by a Filipino woman who seems to have taken over his job. When it becomes clear that the old man prefers a female presence around the house, Raj must find a way to reclaim what he feels is rightfully his. (Leeds International Film Festival 2018).

Yehuda the junk dealer and his son are on their way with Alberto the horse to the vet for his last journey, but Yehuda is doing everything he can to prevent them from getting there.

A unique cinéma vérite achievement, revealing the behind-the-scenes of the government and the private life of Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

A little girl's marbles lead to a fascinating journey and opens up lots of new perspectives on the everyday surroundings.

Rom just started working at a little flower shop. His dreams and inner-feelings collide when a mysterious woman enters the shop.

A documentary functioning as a character study of Amir Orian.

A promotional film that presents the legislative body and all of its various roles. (filmed during the sixth Knesset term). The work routine of the government, the presidency of the Knesset, the positions of the coalition, the opposition and the various committees. The discussions are taking place at Beit Frumin, shortly before the move to the new permanent residence. The film shows the prominent MKs of those years, headed by Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, Chairman Kaddish Luz, Foreign Minister Golda Meir. At the center of the film is an extensive discussion of the question of Arab Refugees.

Four LGBTQ adults re-encounter the home video footage they shot of themselves as youths: Shauly explored his homosexuality; Tom faced his gender identity; Betty filmed her friends and lovers; Rumia discovered her roots in drag.

A young guy wakes up in a wheat field covered in blood, with no memory at all and he's in pain, he meets a girl also covered in blood that tells him he tries to kill himself.

A 16-year-old boy spends a quiet day alone at a remote beach when a mysterious girl in a white dress approaches him, leading to a brief, intimate conversation about life, death, and reality.

The story of the residents of a small village in Israel in the 1940s, their loves, worries and pleasures as experienced by Yossi, a naive adolescent who never grows up. Yossi's day-to-day life and the lives of his relatives interest him more than grave national issues, until those invade his world and destroy it

Five friends set out on what becomes their final trip together, spending two nights and a day in the desert. As time slows and the distance from everything familiar grows, they experience moments of joy, discomfort, and quiet reflection. Drifting through a hazy, almost psychedelic state, the journey begins to feel less like an escape and more like a goodbye all captured through the lens of a camcorder.

WHAT WILL YOU DO TO SUCCEED? Don is just a avrage teen who want to became a legand. so what he will need to do to achived his dream? and what it will cost him? what the future have to do with it? all you find in FUTURE SUCCESS. A driven teenager sets out to carve his own path toward success, determined to rise above his circumstances. As his journey unfolds, unexpected forces begin to shape his direction, challenging his sense of control and ambition. Confronted with difficult choices, he must decide what he is truly willing to sacrifice in pursuit of the future he envisions.

Yirmi invited all of his friends to a house sleepover. But when his father returns home and discovers one of his friends ate all the livers that were left in the fridge, Yirmi's friends realize the true tensions that are in his household - including gaslighted violence and shocking secrets of their family's past.

An Israeli Film Service documentary, describing the two faces of the Negev: unspoiled desert landscape alongside modern Israeli settlements. The film documents the culture and commerce in Beersheba, the works in Timna Valley’s copper mines and the Aravah’s agricultural fields, and the technological strongholds of Ben Gurion University’s labs, the Wise Observatory, and Eilat’s desalination plant. Alongside the modernization, the film captures the surrounding desert nature and wildlife, the Nabataean archaeological sites in the Negev, as well as the remains of the War of Independence in Mizpe Revivim.

A modern-day analogy and freestyle adaptation of the life and work of acclaimed Israeli poet, Rachel Bluwstein.

A man and woman meet on either side of a desolate road. He falls in love and tries to impress her in any way possible. But from the moment they become a couple, it all starts to go downhill.

A dark psychological thriller that explores a young couple's descent into obsession, control, and the fragile boundaries between love and madness. Told with raw intensity and visual restraint, Survive Together confronts the terrifying question — how far would you go to feel alive?

Yaacov comes to Haran to ask Lavan for Rachel's hand, but not as you might remember it.

A group of bored young Tel Avivians in late 1960s Israel leaf through some playboy magazines whilst contemplating the conceptual meaning of “an end”.

Guygu is a short-animated documentary film that tells the story of Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. The film focuses on Gilboa-Dalal’s experience of captivity in Hamas tunnels, and it incorporates dream sequences in an anime style and Japanese music, highlighting his love of Japan and his yearning for freedom. Gilboa-Dalal was held captive by Hamas for two years before his release. The film was produced in his absence.

When Shira returns home after years abroad, she comes face to face with Lior – her childhood best friend and the man at the center of a night that changed everything. He’s certain they shared love. She’s certain it was assault. A tense, intimate drama exploring memory, consent, and the fragile line between truth and perception.

In this movie, I dive into this map of architecture plan, in search of the meaning of the plan. What does a plan predict about the future? a good plan is at risk of failing the same way a bad plan fails. A plan is an evidence that reminds us how we did not succeed to follow it. The scenario plan is an estrange, cold space in which I decided to arouse little incidents from life and imagination. I portray a world of thought, fears, daily acts and feelings. The routine and circulation gives us the comfort to repression, illusions and forgetting the future.

There is a famous urban legend in Jerusalem, about a commercial center "CLAL" built in the 1970s. According to legend, during the construction of the building, a Jerusalem gang murdered and buried a person in the foundations of the building so that it would never be discovered. Although the location of the commercial center is very central, businesses fail to thrive. And that's why they began to believe that the building was cursed and rumors about a buried body began to spread. This animation presents a moment in the distant future of Jerusalem, 2044, the day when it is decided to demolish the building, and in the course of destruction there is a resurrection of the dead and the disco of the seventies.

Yonatan, an ultra-Orthodox young man protesting against conscription into the IDF, offering his perspective on the yeshiva, the conscription, and socks.

Or and Bar are in a secret relationship during a war. While Or is recruited to fight in Gaza, Bar remains at home and discovers Or’s death through a news report on the television. Now Bar must carry the weight of grief and their secret.

An experimental film as part of a journey of three not-so-ordinary people who are going to discover a new world and try to figure out where their place is in this world. Immigrants and disabled. The film raises questions about a sense of belonging, identity, immigration, family, and all those things that make up the word “home.”

The line between documentary and narrative filmmaking is blurred in this film by director, Asher Tlalim. In the aftermath of Israel’s devastating and deeply traumatic 1973 Yom Kippur War, Tlalim shines a light on post-war Israeli reality through the story of a widow, portrayed by the director’s then-wife, Miri Tlalim, who is carrying the child of her partner who had died in combat. The widow’s storyline intertwines with that of the camera crew shadowing her and led by director, Asher Tlalim. Interwoven with both storylines is a range of archival footage which captures and highlights Israeli reality along the paper-thin fault line between the famously back-to-back Israeli Memorial and Independence Day.