Discoveries from Israel World Cinema

Eight women, Arab and Jewish, take part in a video workshop hosted by Rona, young filmmaker. With each camera take, the group dynamic forces the women to challenge their beliefs as they get to know one other.

Shimon, a 70-year-old widower, travels to Paris to visit a childhood friend. He stays with his daughter and discovers that her marriage is falling apart. He decides to help. In the process, he finds out that he and his daughter share both dreams and desires of which they had been previously unaware.

In 1948, immediately before a ceasefire takes effect, four volunteers fighting for Israel are ordered to take Hill 24, overlooking the road to Jerusalem.

Two losers men in their thirties are having the worst night in their life when they discover that they will soon be millionaires. The only thing that they haven't thought about is that the way to the million will lead them to a journey in which they will meet some of the worst surreal and crazy people, that will try to take their money in any cost.

Sarah, a morose harpist in the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra, is married to Abraham, the charismatic conductor of the group. They have no children. When Hagar, a young horn player from East Jerusalem joins the Orchestra, Sarah's world erupts. A unique friendship evolves between the two women. Hagar, feeling Sarah’s pain from not having children, offers to have a baby for Sarah. Ismail, born to Hagar and Abraham, is a wild and gifted pianist whom Sarah raises as her own. When Ismail discovers the true identity of his mother, his world – and that of those around him – falls apart. Harmonia maintains the unique essence of the biblical story from Genesis and adds a personal and human perspective.

The story of the forbidden love of Tony, a young American gang member, and Maria, the sister of the rival Puerto Rican gang leader. This love story becomes a dramatic struggle between two gangs on the streets of New York, until the tragic end.

Yarden Gat is young, brilliant, creative and doesn't really believe in love. However when she decides to go on a date anyway, she soon dicovers herself telling about the time she worked for a newspaper, slept with her married boss and following his order ruined her single romanticist best friend's life, when she sends him on many dates only to write about it humiliatingly in the paper. Maybe not the best story for a first date? depends on the date...

Michale is a thirty year old woman. She works with her father in a Tel Aviv accounting office providing services to important religious institutions. She divides her time between her child, her husband, her work and the man with whom she is having an affair. When Michale learns of the tragic death of her lover, her life is shattered.

A thief is released from prison and with the help of his friend he tries to avenge the policeman who caught him.

Based on archive material, the film reveals the final years of Israel's founder, David Ben-Gurion. Excluded from leadership, he allowed himself a hindsight perspective on the Zionist enterprise.

The sequel to Matchmaking 2.

Adventures of an Israeli soldier who is mistakenly identified as the brother of one of Israel's leading soccer players.

When a revered senior analyst is found dead at the Jerusalem Psychoanalytic Society headquarters, Chief Inspector Michael Ohayon penetrates the elite, mysterious world of the institute to find the killer.

When a pair of estranged Israeli sisters—one who stayed at the childhood home to care for their debilitated father, the other who left for a new life in Tel Aviv—are reunited, they must come to terms with the circumstances that tore them apart.

This story centers on the Jewish practice that requires an unmarried brother to marry the childless widow of his dead brother. In this story the younger brother is only 12 years old when his brother dies. The requirement is avoided by a legal fiction, but as time passes in the story, the situation changes.

Coming of age story about a friendship between 12 years old Gal and 19 years old Haya in Israeli moshav where both are living.

In the city of Jaffa; a young girl plans to run away with her secret lover, when a tragedy forever changes the course of their lives. Jaffa is a mixed Arabic - Jewish seaside city near Tel Aviv, where Reuven Wolf (Moni Moshonov) has a garage for repairing cars. His wife Ossi (Ronit Elkabetz), a vain, self-centered woman, just makes everybody's life difficult. The couple's daughter, Mali Wolf (Dana Ivgy), has secretly fallen in love with her childhood friend, the young Toufik (newcomer Mahmud Shalaby), a hard-working youth who has come as a helping hand to his Israeli-Arab father Hassan, a long-time mechanic working for Reuven.

Boaz, a reserve soldier, returns from the battlefield and becomes involved in editing a memorial album dedicated to a friend who was killed before his eyes. He becomes increasingly involved in the lucrative business of producing memorabilia of this kind and does not hesitate exploiting the grief feelings of the survivors and symbolically becomes a "vulture," even in his romance with the dead hero's girlfriend.

"The image is universal; the country of origin is Israel, confirming that its young are not different from others elsewhere. The atmosphere is cool, modern, Western; the decor utilitarian, the style avant-garde. Nothing detracts from the soft abandon of the scene. This film is banned in Israel. And who said that Israel cannot make sex films? Yet the contrasting myths of Israel as an idealistic society given to righteous self-improvement or a militarist-orthodox state bent on self-aggrandizement are so strong that this work comes as a surprise. Its manifold copulations, sophisticated stance, avant-garde modernity, and political thrusts stamp it as the testimony of a new generation. One sequence: "A vision of the Virgin Mary waiting for the Holy Ghost to do his thing, as Avidan's voice sings a tearful Yiddish refrain and Joseph the Carpenter bangs on the door, before going to take his vengeance by building a cross."" — Amos Vogel

The life of the Yassif family becomes almost impossible when the father who is the city architect, is charged with taking bribes.

A young officer returns to his base after a daring mission. The cook's assistant, a religious Holocaust survivor, is envious of him. He believes that there is a place in heaven reserved for the brave officer who endangers his life for the sake of his Jewish brethren. The officer, in the spirit of the Zionist ethos, is secular and a non-believer. At the moment, he is so hungry that, for a plate of shaksuka, he is prepared to sign a contract transferring his secured place in heaven to the cook. Some forty years later, the present time of the movie, the tables have turned - the officer, now a retired general, is on his death bed in the hospital. His son who, to his father's horror, has found religion, is in a race against time. Before his father dies, he has to find that cook's assistant who, forty years earlier, bought his place in heaven. If and when he finds him, the son has to nullify the contract. If he doesn't, his father will go to hell.

A comedy of errors takes place between Paris and Eilat, and tells the story of twin brothers who have not met for 20 years. Papi, a gay fashion designer with a deserter from the Israeli Army as his boyfriend, and Max, his plumber brother who lives the simple family life in Eilat. A lawyer shows up one day to offer a $40 million dollar inheritance if both brothers meet the sole condition of having three children each.

The film takes place in Tel Aviv, much of it in a fictitious local pub called Barbie, a satirical nickname for a famous Israeli mental health institution. The pub's name hints at the characters and the events which occur in the pub and which befall its owner (Daliah), the employees and customers. The plot unfolds with a streak of violence which takes a surprising turn.

The love story of Margalit (Pnina Gary), who lives in Nahalal, and Eli Ben-Zvi, son of Rachel Yanait and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Israeli's second president. The year is 1947, a tumultuous period as tensions rise between the Israeli settlement and the Arab tribes and neighboring countries. A chance encounter sparks love at first sight between Margalit, of Nahalal – a cooperative workers' settlement – and Eli Ben-Zvi, the Muhtar of the Beit Keshet kibbutz. The affair is off to a rocky start, as Eli is committed to the defense efforts that preceded the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 and the birth of the State of Israel. The two go on to set a wedding date, but the fight for a nation leaves no room for young lovers.

The royal family is in conflict and at its center - a rejected, hurt and injured child who in his adulthood becomes a cruel dictator, a malignant disease that mercilessly brutalizes those who brutalized him. An eloquent and touching murderous clown who takes us on a spectacular journey of self-destruction. The damaged villain who steps on corpses on his way to the throne - is actually a mirror of human society, for all its flaws, a warning light for all of us, because why stop at the family when you can eliminate the country?

A collection of skits and songs from Israeli television shows from the 1970s.

Ovadia Rachmim is the strongest and most violent doorman of Tel Aviv night clubs. He and his wife Rachel are trying to get pregnant for 5 years. A small time gangster named Shalom, offers Ovadia a job, to be a debts collector, offering him a lot of money. Ovadia sees this as great opportunity to start an expensive private treatment for his wife. As soon as Rachel gets pregnant, he decides to stop working for Shalom. Shalom wants him for the most important mission. The mission in which Ovadia has to betray all his best friends. Now it's the time to pay the price of becoming a father.

Manish is a talented and athletic street dancer from Mumbai who dreams of becoming professional against the wishes of his struggling parents. He meets a curmudgeonly Israeli ballet master who gives him the determination to keep going. But when he is pitted against another boy who’s got the attention of the top school in the world, Manish realizes he must push himself to his physical limits if he has any chance to succeed.

This is the story of an Israeli man, Jack, whose wife has been killed in a suicide bombing, leaving him in charge of two young daughters. Jack, on the verge of suicide, decides they need a fresh start and moves the family to New York. He quickly meets, marries, and moves in with Kathy, a mother of four, to try to fill the void. It doesn't. He needs some quixotic pursuit to keep him going. Kathy's stepdaughter Carmen gives him an idea: Sumo Wrestling. With Jack training, the kids start getting into trouble, Carmen tries to seduce Jack, Kathy's at her wits end... the family is falling apart. With his first match approaching, what can Jack do to do save his life and save his family?

Professional big-dude Paul Smith in an Israeli-produced action-comedy that looks to take inspiration from the Hill/Spencer comedies.

A story of a street walker, who tries to leave the world of prostitution when she gets pregnant.

Not the sort of film we usually see coming from Israel, this teen horror-comedy is a loving tribute to American films of the 80s. Mili and Noam are high-school students who intend to celebrate their six-month anniversary by losing their virginity. What begins as an innocent pedal boat ride full of raging hormones, becomes a struggle against monstrous cats out for blood. This self-parodying low, low budget, independently produced feature is filled with surprises as well as hilarious oddball charm.

Sergeant Gidi Tsur (Topol) serves in the reserve in the Suez Canal. He goes on vacation and is supposed to meet with his wife to get divorced in the Rabbinate. Meanwhile, he spends his time in the company of other women.

What will Riki do after Asher, her fiancé, tells her that he got second thoughts regarding their wedding?..

A family with five kids in the 80s get into a crisis when twin brothers fall in love with the same girl.

In present day Jerusalem, a city increasingly dominated by religious fanaticism, Naomi, a secular young woman seeks refuge from the pressure of her life as a concert pianist. Despite her intentions to stay alone, however, Naomi quickly makes two unexpected connections- one with a musically gifted Ultra-Orthodox young boy who lives in her building and the other, with Fabrizio, a charismatic Italian monk and organist. While these relationships allow Naomi to reconnect with her love of music and sense of meaning, they also make her a target in her new community. Faced with escalating isolation and violence, Naomi must learn to use music as a bridge to overcome towering religious barriers.

An estranged father and son are brought together by a young crane named Karl as they trace a family of the birds on their migratory journey from Russia to Africa.

A comedy-thriller created by mixing ISIS operatives, tough Mossad agents and a unique relationship between two young Muslim guys in the most rainbow-colored, song contest imaginable. Was previously a miniseries, now edited into a feature film for the festival circuit.

One fence, four fans, and the game of their lives. This is a story about 4 men and a radio.

When 17-year-old Abigail stumbles upon her old piano, painful memories of her late father resurface. But when a mysterious entity tries to stop her from playing, she must make a difficult choice: continue avoiding the pain - or confront it head-on.

Jerusalem's greatest badchan (Hasidic wedding comedian), wrecked his career because of liquor and a big mouth, gets a second chance as the sidekick of the famous American Badchan Meshulam. At the wedding, everything spins out of control.

Audie plays a James Bond-type action hero assigned to destroy a Neo-Nazy weapons factory headed by nemesis George Sanders.

Sasha is non-binary and came to Israel from the Soviet Union as a child in the 1990s. Haunted by memories, they visit the houses they used to live in. A quiet meditation in black and white on what it means to feel at home in a house, a body, and in time.

A nature documentary shot entirely in Israel, Land of Genesis follows three mammals in their respective geographic habitats, as the seasons change. The wolves of the Golan Heights, the swamp cats of the Sea Of Galilee, and the ibexes of the desert are shown in the most beautiful way.

A hotel porter, who a long time ago divorced his wife and his daughter with her in America, is alarmed when a beautiful girl arrives at his hotel looking for her supposedly rich father. The porter had been sending back money and describing himself as a well-to-do businessman. With the help of his hotel friends, he becomes the guest of honor and takes her on a tour of Israel, all the time trying to avoid revealing his true work.

A young girl and her mother both carry the scars of their experiences during the holocaust in this drama from Israel. In 1951, Aviya is a ten-year-old girl being raised by her single mother, Henya, in a small village in Israel. Henya is a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, and has come out of the experience considerably worse for wear; she's haunted by the memories of her past, and has become emotionally unstable. Circumstances for her and her daughter are hardly improved by the poverty of the newly wounded state of Israel, and their own difficult economic circumstances. Aviya, meanwhile, is obsessed with finding her missing father, and wonders if he might be the man who has just moved into their village. Henya, however, knows better, and knows why Aviya's father is never coming back to them.

Marie was just two years old when her mother gifted her to her infertile sister, a common Moroccan custom at the time. 40 years later, Marie travels from France to Israel, where her family now lives, to marry her one true love. Her warm and excited family is preparing for the custom of "Seven Blessings"- a week of festive meals in honor of the bride. But Marie has also come to open old wounds. Between intoxicating family meals, secrets and lies are revealed. Marie is desperate for an apology although her family is sure she should be thanking them. This week turns into a sad comedy about family crimes, forgiveness and loss.

The grand celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Festigal is taking the stage. Legendary stars of previous Festigal shows have assembled to honor the show's legacy and revisit their classic songs. But behind the scenes, not everything seems to go according to plan. Previous villains of the Festigal show are furious that they weren't invited to join the celebration. Led by their anonymous leader, they scheme to sabotage the production. Due to COVID restrictions, the show couldn't be performed live. Therefore, it was pre-recorded and streamed online, with multi-choice interactive moments, "choose your own adventure"-style, using the Eko platform.

A young soldier is being treated very harsh by his commanding lieutenant. Just before they will be sent out to Lebanon, their battalion gets one day off to relax in Jerusalem. There the soldier finds out the lieutenant has sex in a public park.

My insistence on exploring my late grandmother’s archive pulls my mother and me into a 3-generation conversation, exposing a gap that refuses resolution.

A film based on true events, set against the backdrop of 1947-8 in Tel Aviv in the Jewish quarter. A story of Miriam Seidmann, a Jewish girl and George Khoury, an Arab who meet by chance and fall in love.

15-year-old Shir longs to be one of the popular kids. When her brother Tomer is unexpectedly accepted into a television music program, she too can enjoy the glamour surrounding him. At first, her brother's fame is too good to be true, but as the time passes, Shir realizes things may not be as great as they seem. Will a song win everything she dreams about now when it's almost famous?

At the end of The Six Day War of 1967, two soldiers, an Egyptian and an Israeli, encounter each other in the Sinai desert. Two soldiers - one goal: Survival.

Russia, 1905. Tuvia is the only Jew living in the village of Antevka. He is very poor but things change when, as a token of gratitude for a service rendered, he is given a cow and some food. Now, his wife, his seven daughters and himself have access to a better life. Tuvia sells his milk and his butter. Moreover, he is now able to give his daughters a dowry and marry them. But you can't buy happiness...

Mivtza Savta ("Operation Grandma") is a satirical Israeli comedy about three very different brothers trying to get around many obstacles to bury their grandmother on her kibbutz. The story takes place in Israel, in the fictional kibbutz "Asisim".

Giora (Assi Dayan) runs a bar and dreams of opening a restaurant. He has made a mess of his life — his marriage is in trouble, since he is pathologically cheating on his wife; his parents (Yosef Millo and Orna Porat) have separated; and his father arrives for an extended visit from Nahariya. Giora spends time with his army buddies, recalling their experiences during the War in Lebanon. His father is undergoing a major life crisis and finds both the loneliness of the city and his son's lifestyle unappealing. As a non-Jew in a Jewish society, he feels estranged, an outsider who has never been able to adapt, and contemplates suicide. Eventually, Giora's parents decide to attempt a reconciliation, until tragedy strikes.

Two interconnected stories in the 1930s, one set in Berlin, the other in Palestine: Mania Vilbouchevich Shohat (1880-1961), called Tania, a Russian Jew and revolutionary, goes from Minsk to Palestine to live on a collective. She promotes feminism and laments a shift in the men from self-defense to aggression. Her friend, Else Lasker-Schuler (1869 - 1945), expressionist poet and German Jew, is in Berlin, writing, caring for her son, watching Hitler's movement take power. She goes to Jerusalem and imagines a park for Arab and Jew. Her poems, voiced from within, capture her experience. The film meditates on the violence at the root of Israel's birth: of the Nazis and of the Zionists.

Victor, is a poor worker with seven kids, and Michel, an upscale gay hairdresser, are identical twins who haven't seen each other for 20 years. Now reunited, they pull off a scam of switched identities that has everyone fooled ... or not.