Exclusive: Beyond The Mountains And The Hill director aiming for early 2018 shoot on latest feature.
Israeli director Eran Kolirin is turning the wheels on his adaptation of Palestinian writer Sayed Kashua’s 2006 novel Let It Be Morning, about an Arab village under Israeli blockade, early next year.
“We’ve started casting and the aim is to shoot in February 2018,” says Keren Michael, creative producer at the feature film arm of Israeli media and entertainment company Dori Media Paran, who is overseeing the production.
Kolirin had put development of the film on hold for a few months to focus on promoting his last feature Beyond The Mountains And Hills [pictured], which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2016 and went onto play in several territories and festivals worldwide. “Eran wanted to go back into the script so we’ve just got a new draft and have kickstarted the project again this month,” says Michael...
Israeli director Eran Kolirin is turning the wheels on his adaptation of Palestinian writer Sayed Kashua’s 2006 novel Let It Be Morning, about an Arab village under Israeli blockade, early next year.
“We’ve started casting and the aim is to shoot in February 2018,” says Keren Michael, creative producer at the feature film arm of Israeli media and entertainment company Dori Media Paran, who is overseeing the production.
Kolirin had put development of the film on hold for a few months to focus on promoting his last feature Beyond The Mountains And Hills [pictured], which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2016 and went onto play in several territories and festivals worldwide. “Eran wanted to go back into the script so we’ve just got a new draft and have kickstarted the project again this month,” says Michael...
- 7/14/2017
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Director of The Band’s Visit to explore dilemma of being a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship.
Eran Kolirin is gearing up to shoot an adaptation of Palestinian writer Sayed Kashua’s 2006 tragi-comic novel Let It Be Morning in early 2017.
The work explores the trademark themes of Kashua, who rose to fame in Israel and internationally for his Hebrew-language newspaper columns, novels and TV dramas about the complexity of being a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship.
Kolirin’s adaptation revolves around Sami, an urbane Palestinian accountant (rather than a journalist as per the novel) with Israeli citizenship who left his Arab home village years ago to take up a post in Jerusalem.
He is forced to re-assess his Palestinian roots and Israeli citizenship after he is trapped in his Arab home village when an Israeli army blockade is unexpectedly set up while he is attending a family wedding with his wife and young son.
Yoni Paran, CEO of...
Eran Kolirin is gearing up to shoot an adaptation of Palestinian writer Sayed Kashua’s 2006 tragi-comic novel Let It Be Morning in early 2017.
The work explores the trademark themes of Kashua, who rose to fame in Israel and internationally for his Hebrew-language newspaper columns, novels and TV dramas about the complexity of being a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship.
Kolirin’s adaptation revolves around Sami, an urbane Palestinian accountant (rather than a journalist as per the novel) with Israeli citizenship who left his Arab home village years ago to take up a post in Jerusalem.
He is forced to re-assess his Palestinian roots and Israeli citizenship after he is trapped in his Arab home village when an Israeli army blockade is unexpectedly set up while he is attending a family wedding with his wife and young son.
Yoni Paran, CEO of...
- 7/8/2016
- ScreenDaily
"Designed to inspire, and it works!" These were the first words out of my friend Ian's mouth as we exited "The Idol," Hany Abu-Assad's newest film. Three days later I was still feeling its effect and recommending it to people here at the Toronto Film Festival whenever we discussed the films we had been seeing.
This Palestine/ UK/ Qatar/ Netherlands production was inspired by the true story of Mohammed Assaf, a Palestinian who grew up in Gaza and whose voice became the voice of the nation when he won the Arab Idol contest in 2013.
International sales by Seville (eOne’s arthouse branch) were made before Tiff to some 20 territories including Benelux (September Films is the former Wild Bunch Benelux), France (TF1), Germany (Koch), Japan (New Select), Hong Kong (Edko), Hungary (Mtva), Australia (Umbrella), Latin America (California Filmes), Portugal (Outsider Films), South Africa (Times Media) Switzerland (Praesens), China (Beijing Xiangjiang YiHua Films), India (PVR), Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore (Red Pictures), Taiwan (Spring International), Former Yugoslavia (Discovery Films), Romania (Independenta), South Korea (Kaon Contents & Media) and Airlines (Captive). eOne will directly release the film in Spain. Mbc will distribute throughout the Middle East, including in Palestine and North Africa. Adopt Films just picked up U.S. rights.
This is a feel-good movie which gives a human voice to the Palestinian dilemma without being political or religious. It’s pure heart.
“The Idol” was coproduced by Image Nation of Abu Dhabi, Enjaaz -- a Dubai Film Market initiative -- Doha Film institute with support from the Netherlands Film Fund. Mbc also coproduced and is handling the film’s release in the Middle East and North Africa. September was the Dutch coproducer and is handling it in Benelux.
Speaking in Toronto with Hany Abu-Assad, he agreed, this film was designed carefully. And at its world premiere here in Toronto, he was so nervous. When the laughter from the audience happened at exactly the right moment, he knew the film worked the way he had envisaged. “They laughed and cried at the same time,” he said. He did not know even though the editing if the emotion will carry it. “You don’t know until you show it. When I knew that people laughed with the kids then I knew I had succeeded. The little laugh when the kids were chased told me it worked.”
“From the small laugh to another point here, and another here, a domino effect starts.”
The original script was written by Sameh Zoabi whose earlier film, "Man Without a Cell Phone" won the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival Award for Sameh as Best Director. Hany gave the finished script to his (and my own) friend, colleague and script consultant, Annemarie Jacir, whose own film, "When I Saw You" premiered in Toronto in 2012 and won many awards including the Audience Prize at L.A. Film Festival in 2013 and at Amiens and the Netpac Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2013. “She gave me some notes and worked on some of the dialogue."
I remarked how much I liked the joke about the distance between Gaza and Egypt being the same as the distance between Cuba and Florida and told him about a parallel joke made in the Cuban film “Barrio Cuba” when the Havana people call those coming from the east (Santiago de Cuba) “Palestinians”.
Aside from having a top-notch script, the entire film design was also successful because he worked with the same Dp Ehab Assal, Editor Eyas Salmon who was also editor of Tiff’s “Dégradé”, Production Designer and Art Director Nael Kanj and the Location Manager who all worked on his last film, the Academy Award nominated “Omar”. They have grown with him are now top quality artists and technicians who can work on both local and international productions.
“During ‘Omar’ we talked a lot about how the film would work, the concept, the core, the score, but on this film we spoke less. We knew each other better and it was much easier to shoot knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And it was joyful and almost telepathic. We hoped this approach behind the camera would also inform the on-screen experience,” said Hany who also insisted on shooting on location in both Beirut and Cairo for the exterior scenes set in those cities so that the film would look and feel real.
The key to this film has always been authenticity both in front of and behind the camera. That is why “The Idol” is one of the first, if not the first, international production to shoot on location in Gaza, despite the logistical difficulties to get a film crew in and out safely. Set in the devastated landscapes of a Gaza still reeling from the month-long bombardment in 2014, Abu-Assad and his crew were still able to find great moments of beauty and surprise. The Gaza Parkour Team, for example, supply their amazing acrobatic display in the most surprising way in one moment, proving that art can thrive in even the most challenging of situations.
For more on "The Idol" read the pre Toronto reportage.
That desire for authenticity is also why Hany insisted on finding and employing real kids from Gaza to act in the film. The crew did a Gaza-wide search, holding casting sessions and rehearsals in schools across the area. Ultimately, the production was blessed to find four amazing Gazan children to star in the film, all first time actors, and all incredible natural performers.
The first half of the film takes place in a war-torn Gaza city which for
Mohammed Assaf, his sister Nour and their best friends Ahmad and Omar is a playground where they freely ride their bikes, play music, football and dare to dream big. Their band might play on second hand, beaten up instruments but their ambitions are sky-high. Their ambition is to play at the world famous Cairo Opera Hall.
The world around Mohammed shatters. Through it all, however, he retains the hope that his voice will somehow deliver him from the pain that surrounds him and bring joy to others. He sings at weddings, he drives a taxi to pay for his university studies. Even as the siege around Gaza intensifies, the prison around them ever more forbidding, Mohammed knows he has a rare gift, the ability to make people smile and forget their anxieties about day to day living.
On TV one evening he watches as the auditions for Arab Idol, the most popular show in the Arab world, take place in Cairo. The borders are closed. There is no way out. Somehow, he finds a way and makes it in front of the judges in Egypt. From there, destiny awaits, a chance to change his life and give a voiceless people the greatest feeling of all: the freedom to love, live and feel free.
However success in the weekly competitions bring on anxieties of a new kind, to be the one responsible for being the voice of his people, Palestine takes on more importance than his personal reasons for surviving and succeeding.
This film plays well to children and adults equally. The boy becomes a man, played by Tawfeek Barhom who played in last year's "Dancing Arabs" and switches gears to his escape to Egypt and his competing in the Arab Idol talent contest. At the very end, Tawfeek’s character becomes the real star, Mohammed Assaf. His voice was always used, even when Tawfeek was supposedly singing.
“I always ask myself why I want to make a movie and spend almost two years of my life working very hard to complete that movie. In the case of ‘The Idol’, the answer was clear and simple. The story of this young man, Muhammad Assaf, is such an incredible story that even somebody like me who, just three weeks earlier had won the Jury Prize of Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, was more excited for Assaf to win Arab Idol than for myself. I was caught on camera between thousands of people gathered in the square in Nazareth to hear the final results for Arab Idol; I was jumping in excitement like a little kid, and I have not had this kind of excitement for a very long time. When Ali Jaafar offered for me to direct Muhammad Assaf’s story, my arms were covered in goosebumps. I knew immediately that I would do everything to make this story a movie.”
“I see ‘The Idol’ as the story of fighting and the will to survive under extreme circumstances. It’s a story of hope and success, where a brother and a sister were able to make from their disadvantages an advantage, and from the impossible possible, who come from nowhere to overcome all odds, beating poverty, oppression, and occupation. They have the ability to convert ugliness to beauty, which, in the end, is the power behind all art and the fuel to nurture hope.”
“The film was designed as a movie with no cultural barriers. You could be Chinese, American or Palestinian and you can appreciate the film. The very old and the very young can all understand the journey. It crosses religious lines. I meant to take a very specific story into a broader context.”
“The story of Mohammed Assaf is a once in a lifetime event, an opportunity to put a human face on a people who have all too often been marginalized and misrepresented. “
“At a time of unprecedented upheaval in the Arab world, with revolutions, civil wars, strife and extremism, Mohammed’s journey from humble wedding singer in Gaza, to the region’s hottest young star played out before our eyes weekly. Every Friday and Saturday night, for a few minutes, viewers could release themselves from the daily struggles and remember how to smile again.”
“Mohammed Assaf represents the spirit and symbol of what might be; of dreams coming true; of the impossible becoming, for a precious moment at least, entirely possible.”
“The children in the first audience loved it.”
“The girl is now with her family as refugees. They escaped and are seeking asylum in Europe. The three boys were in Toronto and one wanted to stay.
I’m happy I gave four Gazan kids the chance to see beyond the ghetto. They have special talent and their exposure now allows the world to come to them. Audiences love these children so much that they have offered to pay for their education. There was even an offer to adopt one. With paid-for education their futures are now more hopeful,” Hany said.
“The girl is so talented. She never acted before but she understood and loved the logic of shooting, of decoupage. ‘Is this a wide shot?’ she would ask. She spent three days asking about the lenses. On the second day an actor off camera forgot his lines. She continued to talk as if he were talking, as if he were acting. She came out of war. Two of her uncles were killed in the war. When you loose your fear of death you are enormously naked, exposed and you become more sensitized. She could become a great actress.”
“I’m glad I could do something for these four children”.
The Filmmaker
Hany Abu-Assad is one of the world’s most distinctive filmmakers. The two-time Academy Award-nominated director – “Paradise Now” (2006) and “Omar” (2013)- has won countless other awards including the Berlin International Film Festival’s prestigious Blue Angel award, Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and the Special Jury Prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
He was born in Nazareth, Palestine in 1961. After having studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, Abu-Assad entered the world of cinema as a producer and produced the feature film “Curfew”, directed by Rashid Masharawi, in 1994.
In 1998 he directed his first film, “The Fourteenth Chick”, from a script by writer Arnon Grunberg, followed by his documentary “Nazareth 2000”, his second feature film “Rana’s Wedding” and his second documentary “Ford Transit”.
In 2006 his film “Paradise Now” about two Palestinian men preparing for a suicide attack in Tel Aviv, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign language film in 2006.
In 2011 Abu-Assad finished working on “The Courier”, a Hollywood movie starring Jeffery Dean Morgan, Til Schweiger and Mickey Rourke.
Most recently, Abu-Assad’s “Omar”, which featured star-making performances from Adam Bakri and Leem Lubany, garnered the director his second Academy Award nomination for the edge-of-your seat thriller. The film won several worldwide prizes including the Jury Prize of Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.
This Palestine/ UK/ Qatar/ Netherlands production was inspired by the true story of Mohammed Assaf, a Palestinian who grew up in Gaza and whose voice became the voice of the nation when he won the Arab Idol contest in 2013.
International sales by Seville (eOne’s arthouse branch) were made before Tiff to some 20 territories including Benelux (September Films is the former Wild Bunch Benelux), France (TF1), Germany (Koch), Japan (New Select), Hong Kong (Edko), Hungary (Mtva), Australia (Umbrella), Latin America (California Filmes), Portugal (Outsider Films), South Africa (Times Media) Switzerland (Praesens), China (Beijing Xiangjiang YiHua Films), India (PVR), Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore (Red Pictures), Taiwan (Spring International), Former Yugoslavia (Discovery Films), Romania (Independenta), South Korea (Kaon Contents & Media) and Airlines (Captive). eOne will directly release the film in Spain. Mbc will distribute throughout the Middle East, including in Palestine and North Africa. Adopt Films just picked up U.S. rights.
This is a feel-good movie which gives a human voice to the Palestinian dilemma without being political or religious. It’s pure heart.
“The Idol” was coproduced by Image Nation of Abu Dhabi, Enjaaz -- a Dubai Film Market initiative -- Doha Film institute with support from the Netherlands Film Fund. Mbc also coproduced and is handling the film’s release in the Middle East and North Africa. September was the Dutch coproducer and is handling it in Benelux.
Speaking in Toronto with Hany Abu-Assad, he agreed, this film was designed carefully. And at its world premiere here in Toronto, he was so nervous. When the laughter from the audience happened at exactly the right moment, he knew the film worked the way he had envisaged. “They laughed and cried at the same time,” he said. He did not know even though the editing if the emotion will carry it. “You don’t know until you show it. When I knew that people laughed with the kids then I knew I had succeeded. The little laugh when the kids were chased told me it worked.”
“From the small laugh to another point here, and another here, a domino effect starts.”
The original script was written by Sameh Zoabi whose earlier film, "Man Without a Cell Phone" won the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival Award for Sameh as Best Director. Hany gave the finished script to his (and my own) friend, colleague and script consultant, Annemarie Jacir, whose own film, "When I Saw You" premiered in Toronto in 2012 and won many awards including the Audience Prize at L.A. Film Festival in 2013 and at Amiens and the Netpac Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2013. “She gave me some notes and worked on some of the dialogue."
I remarked how much I liked the joke about the distance between Gaza and Egypt being the same as the distance between Cuba and Florida and told him about a parallel joke made in the Cuban film “Barrio Cuba” when the Havana people call those coming from the east (Santiago de Cuba) “Palestinians”.
Aside from having a top-notch script, the entire film design was also successful because he worked with the same Dp Ehab Assal, Editor Eyas Salmon who was also editor of Tiff’s “Dégradé”, Production Designer and Art Director Nael Kanj and the Location Manager who all worked on his last film, the Academy Award nominated “Omar”. They have grown with him are now top quality artists and technicians who can work on both local and international productions.
“During ‘Omar’ we talked a lot about how the film would work, the concept, the core, the score, but on this film we spoke less. We knew each other better and it was much easier to shoot knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And it was joyful and almost telepathic. We hoped this approach behind the camera would also inform the on-screen experience,” said Hany who also insisted on shooting on location in both Beirut and Cairo for the exterior scenes set in those cities so that the film would look and feel real.
The key to this film has always been authenticity both in front of and behind the camera. That is why “The Idol” is one of the first, if not the first, international production to shoot on location in Gaza, despite the logistical difficulties to get a film crew in and out safely. Set in the devastated landscapes of a Gaza still reeling from the month-long bombardment in 2014, Abu-Assad and his crew were still able to find great moments of beauty and surprise. The Gaza Parkour Team, for example, supply their amazing acrobatic display in the most surprising way in one moment, proving that art can thrive in even the most challenging of situations.
For more on "The Idol" read the pre Toronto reportage.
That desire for authenticity is also why Hany insisted on finding and employing real kids from Gaza to act in the film. The crew did a Gaza-wide search, holding casting sessions and rehearsals in schools across the area. Ultimately, the production was blessed to find four amazing Gazan children to star in the film, all first time actors, and all incredible natural performers.
The first half of the film takes place in a war-torn Gaza city which for
Mohammed Assaf, his sister Nour and their best friends Ahmad and Omar is a playground where they freely ride their bikes, play music, football and dare to dream big. Their band might play on second hand, beaten up instruments but their ambitions are sky-high. Their ambition is to play at the world famous Cairo Opera Hall.
The world around Mohammed shatters. Through it all, however, he retains the hope that his voice will somehow deliver him from the pain that surrounds him and bring joy to others. He sings at weddings, he drives a taxi to pay for his university studies. Even as the siege around Gaza intensifies, the prison around them ever more forbidding, Mohammed knows he has a rare gift, the ability to make people smile and forget their anxieties about day to day living.
On TV one evening he watches as the auditions for Arab Idol, the most popular show in the Arab world, take place in Cairo. The borders are closed. There is no way out. Somehow, he finds a way and makes it in front of the judges in Egypt. From there, destiny awaits, a chance to change his life and give a voiceless people the greatest feeling of all: the freedom to love, live and feel free.
However success in the weekly competitions bring on anxieties of a new kind, to be the one responsible for being the voice of his people, Palestine takes on more importance than his personal reasons for surviving and succeeding.
This film plays well to children and adults equally. The boy becomes a man, played by Tawfeek Barhom who played in last year's "Dancing Arabs" and switches gears to his escape to Egypt and his competing in the Arab Idol talent contest. At the very end, Tawfeek’s character becomes the real star, Mohammed Assaf. His voice was always used, even when Tawfeek was supposedly singing.
“I always ask myself why I want to make a movie and spend almost two years of my life working very hard to complete that movie. In the case of ‘The Idol’, the answer was clear and simple. The story of this young man, Muhammad Assaf, is such an incredible story that even somebody like me who, just three weeks earlier had won the Jury Prize of Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, was more excited for Assaf to win Arab Idol than for myself. I was caught on camera between thousands of people gathered in the square in Nazareth to hear the final results for Arab Idol; I was jumping in excitement like a little kid, and I have not had this kind of excitement for a very long time. When Ali Jaafar offered for me to direct Muhammad Assaf’s story, my arms were covered in goosebumps. I knew immediately that I would do everything to make this story a movie.”
“I see ‘The Idol’ as the story of fighting and the will to survive under extreme circumstances. It’s a story of hope and success, where a brother and a sister were able to make from their disadvantages an advantage, and from the impossible possible, who come from nowhere to overcome all odds, beating poverty, oppression, and occupation. They have the ability to convert ugliness to beauty, which, in the end, is the power behind all art and the fuel to nurture hope.”
“The film was designed as a movie with no cultural barriers. You could be Chinese, American or Palestinian and you can appreciate the film. The very old and the very young can all understand the journey. It crosses religious lines. I meant to take a very specific story into a broader context.”
“The story of Mohammed Assaf is a once in a lifetime event, an opportunity to put a human face on a people who have all too often been marginalized and misrepresented. “
“At a time of unprecedented upheaval in the Arab world, with revolutions, civil wars, strife and extremism, Mohammed’s journey from humble wedding singer in Gaza, to the region’s hottest young star played out before our eyes weekly. Every Friday and Saturday night, for a few minutes, viewers could release themselves from the daily struggles and remember how to smile again.”
“Mohammed Assaf represents the spirit and symbol of what might be; of dreams coming true; of the impossible becoming, for a precious moment at least, entirely possible.”
“The children in the first audience loved it.”
“The girl is now with her family as refugees. They escaped and are seeking asylum in Europe. The three boys were in Toronto and one wanted to stay.
I’m happy I gave four Gazan kids the chance to see beyond the ghetto. They have special talent and their exposure now allows the world to come to them. Audiences love these children so much that they have offered to pay for their education. There was even an offer to adopt one. With paid-for education their futures are now more hopeful,” Hany said.
“The girl is so talented. She never acted before but she understood and loved the logic of shooting, of decoupage. ‘Is this a wide shot?’ she would ask. She spent three days asking about the lenses. On the second day an actor off camera forgot his lines. She continued to talk as if he were talking, as if he were acting. She came out of war. Two of her uncles were killed in the war. When you loose your fear of death you are enormously naked, exposed and you become more sensitized. She could become a great actress.”
“I’m glad I could do something for these four children”.
The Filmmaker
Hany Abu-Assad is one of the world’s most distinctive filmmakers. The two-time Academy Award-nominated director – “Paradise Now” (2006) and “Omar” (2013)- has won countless other awards including the Berlin International Film Festival’s prestigious Blue Angel award, Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and the Special Jury Prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
He was born in Nazareth, Palestine in 1961. After having studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, Abu-Assad entered the world of cinema as a producer and produced the feature film “Curfew”, directed by Rashid Masharawi, in 1994.
In 1998 he directed his first film, “The Fourteenth Chick”, from a script by writer Arnon Grunberg, followed by his documentary “Nazareth 2000”, his second feature film “Rana’s Wedding” and his second documentary “Ford Transit”.
In 2006 his film “Paradise Now” about two Palestinian men preparing for a suicide attack in Tel Aviv, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign language film in 2006.
In 2011 Abu-Assad finished working on “The Courier”, a Hollywood movie starring Jeffery Dean Morgan, Til Schweiger and Mickey Rourke.
Most recently, Abu-Assad’s “Omar”, which featured star-making performances from Adam Bakri and Leem Lubany, garnered the director his second Academy Award nomination for the edge-of-your seat thriller. The film won several worldwide prizes including the Jury Prize of Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.
- 5/3/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Upcoming filmmaker Omri Burstyn wrote and directed the short film "At Dawn", a coming of age story set in the violence of present-day Israel. But before he even finished shooting the film, the reality of the Middle East blew up in his face.
Born in 1985, Omri was politically involved in human rights and peace movements during his youth. Those experiences set the tone for his new short film. Here is what he has to say about the film and his experience.
Tell me a bit about the film.
"At Dawn" deals with present-day Israel; with revengeful acts of right and left winged extremists. It's a coming of age story set in a violent, racist society. In the film, we are following a young teenager named Ali (Tawfeek Barhom). He is the sole Palestinian-Israeli in a radical activist youth group. Ali is struggling to impress Yael, a Jewish-Israeli member of the group, when a series of political outbursts in the west bank lead him to a dangerous position.
Why did you chose to make a political film?
I wanted to tell a story about apocalyptic-like right winged acts that encourage a young group of left wing activists to respond with similar violence. I believe that through this set-up I am able to tell the story of the Real Israel. The way I look at it is that everything here is politicized and this invokes the violent side of people. It's not that I think people here are inherently bad, nothing like that. I just think this is what happens to a society that is in a war for so many generations.
You set the story inside a left wing youth group. Why criticize the "peace people"?
This film is based on my experience as a member of a political youth group during the second intifada. In our group, there was only one Palestinian-Israeli. He was the sole Arab amongst us Israeli Jews. Having an Arab among us seemed like an opportunity to live up to our ideals - to pursue co-existence for real. My friends and I took him in happily, blind to the built-in differences that stood between us. We always treated him as our Arab friend, instead of just our friend.
Today, more than a decade later, I see things in a different light and with a sense of criticism. I examine the violent approach that I was sometimes a part of. It's a hidden violence, but It still existed. We had good intentions, but we were unable to see what co-existence really means. I believe that the only way to achieve peace in this country is to embrace the differences amongst ourselves, our societies, and our cultures. These longings are the roots of this film.
You cast Tawfeek Barhom as the lead actor. How did that happen?
Tawfeek Barhom is a famous and acknowledged actor, but when we first met, it was just after he finished shooting "A Borrowed Identity" by Eran Riklis. I had never seen him act before this. He read the script and reacted very emotionally — it was so close to his own life. He immediately felt obligated to the story and the film — from that moment, I knew he was Ali. Tawfeek is one of the most interesting, talented, deep and devoted actors in Israel today. Working with him was an honor.
Was it hard to shoot this kind of story in Jerusalem?
It's a powerful and intense city. The last day of shooting was in downtown Jerusalem. It was a long and tiring day, but we all were happy and excited to finish the production. I woke up the next morning to hear sad news — there was a terror attack in the exact same place we were shooting. We were lucky I guess. This is, in a nutshell, the painful story of the Middle East — the reality here beats imagination every time.
How do people react to the film?
We have just finished the post-production stage, and have received very good feedback so far. We do have some problems showing it in Israel, due to the political nature of the film and its criticism towards Israeli society. After all the violence and tension we've had this past year, there's a growing fear of voicing difficult questions. Politicians are making it harder and harder to get stories like this out in Israel, putting pressure on festivals and decision makers to hold back. I hope we don't run into censorship in Israel, and we still have our world premiere in front of us. For me, this is a story of a generation, born into a violent broken society. It's a story that needs to be heard.
You can follow the film on twitter: @AtDawnFilm
Or like it on Fb here.
See Trailer Below:...
Born in 1985, Omri was politically involved in human rights and peace movements during his youth. Those experiences set the tone for his new short film. Here is what he has to say about the film and his experience.
Tell me a bit about the film.
"At Dawn" deals with present-day Israel; with revengeful acts of right and left winged extremists. It's a coming of age story set in a violent, racist society. In the film, we are following a young teenager named Ali (Tawfeek Barhom). He is the sole Palestinian-Israeli in a radical activist youth group. Ali is struggling to impress Yael, a Jewish-Israeli member of the group, when a series of political outbursts in the west bank lead him to a dangerous position.
Why did you chose to make a political film?
I wanted to tell a story about apocalyptic-like right winged acts that encourage a young group of left wing activists to respond with similar violence. I believe that through this set-up I am able to tell the story of the Real Israel. The way I look at it is that everything here is politicized and this invokes the violent side of people. It's not that I think people here are inherently bad, nothing like that. I just think this is what happens to a society that is in a war for so many generations.
You set the story inside a left wing youth group. Why criticize the "peace people"?
This film is based on my experience as a member of a political youth group during the second intifada. In our group, there was only one Palestinian-Israeli. He was the sole Arab amongst us Israeli Jews. Having an Arab among us seemed like an opportunity to live up to our ideals - to pursue co-existence for real. My friends and I took him in happily, blind to the built-in differences that stood between us. We always treated him as our Arab friend, instead of just our friend.
Today, more than a decade later, I see things in a different light and with a sense of criticism. I examine the violent approach that I was sometimes a part of. It's a hidden violence, but It still existed. We had good intentions, but we were unable to see what co-existence really means. I believe that the only way to achieve peace in this country is to embrace the differences amongst ourselves, our societies, and our cultures. These longings are the roots of this film.
You cast Tawfeek Barhom as the lead actor. How did that happen?
Tawfeek Barhom is a famous and acknowledged actor, but when we first met, it was just after he finished shooting "A Borrowed Identity" by Eran Riklis. I had never seen him act before this. He read the script and reacted very emotionally — it was so close to his own life. He immediately felt obligated to the story and the film — from that moment, I knew he was Ali. Tawfeek is one of the most interesting, talented, deep and devoted actors in Israel today. Working with him was an honor.
Was it hard to shoot this kind of story in Jerusalem?
It's a powerful and intense city. The last day of shooting was in downtown Jerusalem. It was a long and tiring day, but we all were happy and excited to finish the production. I woke up the next morning to hear sad news — there was a terror attack in the exact same place we were shooting. We were lucky I guess. This is, in a nutshell, the painful story of the Middle East — the reality here beats imagination every time.
How do people react to the film?
We have just finished the post-production stage, and have received very good feedback so far. We do have some problems showing it in Israel, due to the political nature of the film and its criticism towards Israeli society. After all the violence and tension we've had this past year, there's a growing fear of voicing difficult questions. Politicians are making it harder and harder to get stories like this out in Israel, putting pressure on festivals and decision makers to hold back. I hope we don't run into censorship in Israel, and we still have our world premiere in front of us. For me, this is a story of a generation, born into a violent broken society. It's a story that needs to be heard.
You can follow the film on twitter: @AtDawnFilm
Or like it on Fb here.
See Trailer Below:...
- 10/26/2015
- by Erin Grover
- Sydney's Buzz
Exclusive: The Paz brothers are eyeing their first European production, titled Plan A.
Yoav and Doron Paz, the directing duo whose apocalyptic horror film JeruZalem had a work-in-progress screening at Jerusalem Film Festival (July 9-19) on Friday, are planning their first European production.
The film, which has a completed script and is titled Plan A, will be a historical thriller based on the Nakam, the Jewish revenge squad that targeted Nazi war criminals at the end of the Second World War; it promises to tell the real story behind Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Basterds.
“It’s an amazing true story that not a lot of people in Israel know about,” said Yoav Paz. “It’s about Jews after the Second World War who, after going through the Holocaust, through hell, decide they can’t go on with their lives as if nothing happened and decide to take justice into their own hands.”
Producers [link=nm...
Yoav and Doron Paz, the directing duo whose apocalyptic horror film JeruZalem had a work-in-progress screening at Jerusalem Film Festival (July 9-19) on Friday, are planning their first European production.
The film, which has a completed script and is titled Plan A, will be a historical thriller based on the Nakam, the Jewish revenge squad that targeted Nazi war criminals at the end of the Second World War; it promises to tell the real story behind Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Basterds.
“It’s an amazing true story that not a lot of people in Israel know about,” said Yoav Paz. “It’s about Jews after the Second World War who, after going through the Holocaust, through hell, decide they can’t go on with their lives as if nothing happened and decide to take justice into their own hands.”
Producers [link=nm...
- 7/14/2015
- ScreenDaily
What’s in a name? Labeling is a risky proposition. Meant to attract, summarize, or simplify, sometimes all three, a tag’s position front-and-center makes it bait for bashing. Pigeonholing can repel as easily as it entices, or just may harmlessly connote something other than what was intended. In the cultural arena, a title can be artwork-specific and subject-appropriate, only to be slammed, censored, and overruled by the poison of protocol or more overt political and commercial censorship. In theory merely a signifier, it frequently serves as a convenient synecdoche for larger issues under hypocritical attack. Which brings us to Dancing Arabs, […]...
- 6/26/2015
- by Howard Feinstein
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
What’s in a name? Labeling is a risky proposition. Meant to attract, summarize, or simplify, sometimes all three, a tag’s position front-and-center makes it bait for bashing. Pigeonholing can repel as easily as it entices, or just may harmlessly connote something other than what was intended. In the cultural arena, a title can be artwork-specific and subject-appropriate, only to be slammed, censored, and overruled by the poison of protocol or more overt political and commercial censorship. In theory merely a signifier, it frequently serves as a convenient synecdoche for larger issues under hypocritical attack. Which brings us to Dancing Arabs, […]...
- 6/26/2015
- by Howard Feinstein
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
A Borrowed Identity (fka Dancing Arabs) Strand Releasing Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for Shockya. Databased on Rotten Tomatoes. Grade: B+ Director: Eran Riklis Screenwriter: Sayed Kashua, adapted from his novel “Dancing Arabs” Cast: Tawfeek Barhom, Yaël Abecassis, Michael Moshonov, Ali Suliman, Daniel Kitzis, Marlene Bajali, Laëtitia Eido, Razi Gabareen, Norman Issa Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 6/17/15 Opens: June 26, 2015 We’re accustomed to typically American movies about life in high school: how the students are divided into subgroups like “the jocks,” “the nerds,” and “the goths.” While teens place great emphasis on fitting in, they actually fit into not to a homogenous whole but into one of these divisions. [ Read More ]
The post A Borrowed Identity Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post A Borrowed Identity Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 6/19/2015
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Locarno’s initiative dedicated to films in post-production to highlight five-seven projects.
Locarno has announced that the fifth edition of Carte Blanche will focus on Israel.
The festival’s initiative dedicated to films in post-production will select five-seven projects from the territory, in partnership with the Israeli Film Fund, whose producers will be invited to attend the festival to present their work to industry professionals in order to facilitate their completion and distribution.
Previous editions have focused on Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Brazil.
Nadia Dresti, delegate to the artistic direction and head of international at Locarno, commented: “From the success Eran Riklis had on the Piazza Grande with The Syrian Bride, The Human Resources Manager and Dancing Arabs, to the revelation of Nadav Lapid’s talent with the short film Kvish (2006) and then Hashoter selected for the 2010 Concorso internazionale, the relationship forged between the Festival del film Locarno and Israeli cinema has proved increasingly productive.
“With the next...
Locarno has announced that the fifth edition of Carte Blanche will focus on Israel.
The festival’s initiative dedicated to films in post-production will select five-seven projects from the territory, in partnership with the Israeli Film Fund, whose producers will be invited to attend the festival to present their work to industry professionals in order to facilitate their completion and distribution.
Previous editions have focused on Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Brazil.
Nadia Dresti, delegate to the artistic direction and head of international at Locarno, commented: “From the success Eran Riklis had on the Piazza Grande with The Syrian Bride, The Human Resources Manager and Dancing Arabs, to the revelation of Nadav Lapid’s talent with the short film Kvish (2006) and then Hashoter selected for the 2010 Concorso internazionale, the relationship forged between the Festival del film Locarno and Israeli cinema has proved increasingly productive.
“With the next...
- 2/9/2015
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: North American deal for drama starring Elijah Wood.
Strand Releasing has acquired North American rights to Elijah Wood drama Set Fire to the Stars from UK sales outfit The Works.
Wood stars in the Edinburgh debut from director Andy Goodard about an aspiring poet whose life is turned upside down when he embarks on a week-long retreat to save his hero, Dylan Thomas, played by Celyn Jones.
The deal was done between The Works’ head of sales Clare Crean and Jon Gerrans of Strand Releasing.
Producers are A J Riach and Andy Evans, the screenplay was written by actor Jones and Goddard.
Strand plans for a late spring 2015 release.
Director Goddard commented: “Mad as Birds Films and I are very excited about this acquisition. In some way, this movie is a love letter to America, so I guess you could say Strand Releasing is bringing it home.”
Upcoming on Strand’s slate are Celine Sciamma’s Girlhood...
Strand Releasing has acquired North American rights to Elijah Wood drama Set Fire to the Stars from UK sales outfit The Works.
Wood stars in the Edinburgh debut from director Andy Goodard about an aspiring poet whose life is turned upside down when he embarks on a week-long retreat to save his hero, Dylan Thomas, played by Celyn Jones.
The deal was done between The Works’ head of sales Clare Crean and Jon Gerrans of Strand Releasing.
Producers are A J Riach and Andy Evans, the screenplay was written by actor Jones and Goddard.
Strand plans for a late spring 2015 release.
Director Goddard commented: “Mad as Birds Films and I are very excited about this acquisition. In some way, this movie is a love letter to America, so I guess you could say Strand Releasing is bringing it home.”
Upcoming on Strand’s slate are Celine Sciamma’s Girlhood...
- 2/7/2015
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
New films on Screenbase include Eran Riklis’ drama A Borrowed Identity, Tom Barman’s The Alcoholics and twin sisters Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth’s Olivia And Jim.Israeli-French drama A Borrowed Identity
Tawfeek Barhom, Yael Abecassis and Michael Moshonov star in the Palestinian-Israeli drama from Eran Rikils about a student dealing with identity issues.
Formerly known as Dancing Arabs, Konken Studios produce, while The Match Factory handles international sales.
Tom Barman’s second feature The Alcoholics
Cult Belgian filmmaker and musician Tom Barman’s next film is currently in development. Savage Film will produce, and the Flanders Audiovisual Fund will support.
This Belgian/Irish/Spanish co-production is to revolve around a Miami nightclub janitor turned drug smuggler.
Comedy drama Olivia And Jim
BFI has supported the Stray Bear and Equation Pictures production about a widow going on a roadtrip across the UK with her stepson in order to meet her late husband’s mistresses.
Indie comedy...
Tawfeek Barhom, Yael Abecassis and Michael Moshonov star in the Palestinian-Israeli drama from Eran Rikils about a student dealing with identity issues.
Formerly known as Dancing Arabs, Konken Studios produce, while The Match Factory handles international sales.
Tom Barman’s second feature The Alcoholics
Cult Belgian filmmaker and musician Tom Barman’s next film is currently in development. Savage Film will produce, and the Flanders Audiovisual Fund will support.
This Belgian/Irish/Spanish co-production is to revolve around a Miami nightclub janitor turned drug smuggler.
Comedy drama Olivia And Jim
BFI has supported the Stray Bear and Equation Pictures production about a widow going on a roadtrip across the UK with her stepson in order to meet her late husband’s mistresses.
Indie comedy...
- 1/27/2015
- by maud.le-rest@sciencespo-toulouse.net (Maud Le Rest)
- ScreenDaily
The Washington Jewish Film Festival (Wjff) celebrates its 25th year with 11 days of dynamic film programming – accompanied by cultural and educational events – exploring the best of international cinema through a distinctly Jewish lens. February 19 through March 1, audiences will be treated to more than 100 screenings and related events across the Washington area. Hosted by the Washington Dcjcc, this year’s milestone festival features world, East Coast and mid-Atlantic premieres, an exciting roster of filmmaker and cast appearances, and an exquisitely curated line-up of screenings, festivities and other programs including 12 Wjff retrospective film screenings curated by former festival directors in honor of the 25th year.
“For 25 years, this festival has celebrated international cinema in building the single largest Jewish cultural event in Washington,” said Ilya Tovbis, Washington Jewish Film Festival director. “With our most ambitious festival to date, the 25th Wjff will honor a quarter-century of exhibiting the full diversity of the Jewish experience.”
A full festival schedule can be found at www.wjff.org. Highlights are included below.
Among the programs scheduled to take the festival beyond the screen are the 5th Annual Community Education Day on Arab Citizens of Israel, a day of in-depth exploration of the daily lives and challenges of Israel’s Arab population through a keynote address by the president of Al-Qasemi College of Engineering and Science, a panel discussion among Middle East experts, and the D.C. premiere of the film, Dancing Arabs, with its filmmaker Eran Riklis (Sunday, February 22, from 1:30-5 p.m. at the Dcjcc); a state of the cinema address on Israeli documentary film (Tuesday, February 24, at 7 p.m. at the Dcjcc); a pre-festival workshop led by leading Washington and New York film critics for a small group of Washington students; a short film student competition; and the third iteration of Two Jews Walk into a Bar, a cinematic bar event (Sunday, February 8, at 5 p.m.)
Opening Night Film: "Magic Men"
Opening Night will feature "Magic Men," in which a 78-year-old Greek-born atheist (Makram Khouri, Ophir-winner for Best Actor) and his estranged Hasidic rapper son travel from Israel to Greece searching for the magician who saved the father’s life during World War II. Their Adriatic road trip erupts into constant bickering but also has moments of affection, humor, and good will, as father and son reconnect during their adventure. The film is the latest feature from the directors of "Mabul," "A Matter of Size," and "Strangers." Opening Night will be held Thursday, February 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, and The Opening Night Party with Director Guy Nattiv will be held at the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza immediately following the screening.
Centerpiece Evening: "Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem"
Wjff’s Centerpiece Evening will take place at the AFI Silver Theatre on Saturday, February 21, at 7 p.m. and feature an extended Q&A session with Theodore Bikel, the unstoppable performer whose career spans more than 150 screen roles (including an Oscar-nominated turn in The Defiant Ones) and countless stage and musical productions. In "Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem," portraits of two beloved icons—Sholom Aleichem and Theodore Bikel—are woven together in an enchanting new documentary. The two men have much in common: wit, wisdom and talent, filled with deep humanity and Yiddishkeit. Theodore Bikel, now 90, Bikel has played Tevye the Milkman on stage more than 2,000 times, and has animated Aleichem's work through his two celebrated musical plays about the great Russian author. An additional screening will take place Monday, February 23, at 8:45 p.m. at the Washington Dcjcc.
Wjff Visionary Award: "Hester Street"
The Annual Wjff Visionary Award recognizes creativity and insight in presenting the full diversity of the Jewish experience through the moving image. The 2015 honorees are Carol Kane and Joan Micklin Silver. Carol Kane will be present at a screening of her Oscar-nominated performance in Silver’s humorous and poignant movie, "Hester Street," about a traditional Jewish woman (Carol Kane) who arrives with her son to America in the 1890s, only to discover that her cheating husband has assimilated and resents his wife’s old-fashioned ways. The Wjff Visionary Award will be presented Tuesday, February 24, at 7:15 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre.
Spotlight Evening: "East Jerusalem, West Jerusalem"
Israeli-Palestinian singer Mira Awad and songwriter Steve Earle will join legendary singer-songwriter David Broza for a 45-minute musical set and Q&A following a screening of "East Jerusalem, West Jerusalem" on Thursday, February 26, at 7 p.m. at Sidney Harman Hall of the Shakespeare Theater Company. In the film, Broza journeys to East Jerusalem to record his latest album with Israeli, Palestinian and American musicians.
Closing Night: "Mr. Kaplan"
The 25th Wjff will come to a close at the Dcjcc on March 1, at 7:30 p.m. with a screening of Uruguay’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, "Mr. Kaplan." In Uruguayan director Alvaro Brechner’s 2014 feature film, 76-year-old Jacob Kaplan, fed up with his community and his family’s lack of interest in its own heritage, becomes convinced that his German neighbor is a runaway Nazi and secretly takes on the role of a spy, but he is no match for the forces of age. This heartwarming comedy tells the truth of life that transcends time and ideology. The Closing Night Reception and Audience Award announcements follow the screening.
Additional Films of Note
Nominated for this year’s Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, the 2014 Israeli film "Gett, the Trial of Viviane Amsalem," will be screened Wednesday, February 25, at 8:45 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre. Director Ronit Elkabetz tells the story of Amsalem, who is seeking a Jewish divorce from her estranged husband, who repeatedly refuses over the course of several years, leaving Amsalem locked in a seemingly unending battle created by the rules of Orthodox marriage in Israel. The film is Israel’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award and was the Israeli Film Academy’s 2014 Best Film.
The Hebrew language "The Farewell Party" is a dark comedy about a group of friends at a Jerusalem retirement home who build a machine for self-euthanasia to help a terminally ill friend – and then requests start coming in from more and more fellow retirement home residents interested in such a service. To be screened Saturday, February 28 at 7 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre, and then again on Sunday, March 1, at 5:15 p.m. at the Dcjcc, the film won 2015 Ophir Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Actor.
"Next to Her," also in Hebrew with English subtitles, tells the arresting story of Chelli and her mentally disabled sister, whom she is raising by herself until required by a social worker to place her in a day-care center, only to then meet a man who leads to a relationship triangle between the three. The film was a critically acclaimed selection for the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. It will be screened Monday, February 23 at 7:15 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre; Thursday, February 26 at 8:30 p.m. at the Katzen Arts Center at American University; and Saturday, February 28 at 6:45 p.m. at the Jcc of Greater Washington in Rockville.
Silent Films with Live Original Music: "Breaking Home Ties" and "The Golem"
On Monday, February 23, Wjff will screen the first of two silent films with live original music accompaniment. At 6:30 p.m. at the Dcjcc, pianist Donald Sosin and violinist Joseph Morag will accompany the 1922 silent film, "Breaking Home Ties." Then on Thursday, February 26 at 7:15 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre, Grammy-nominated Gary Lucas will present a reprisal of one of his most beloved original scores, the 1920 German silent horror-fantasy-expressionist film "The Golem," the tale of a 16th-century rabbi who made a man out of clay to save the Jewish community of Prague from annihilation.
Films with Local Ties/Themes
"The Rosenwald Schools"
On Wednesday, February 25, at 6:30 p.m., local filmmaker and former Washington Film Festival Director Aviva Kempner will be present for the world premiere of her new documentary at the Avalon Theater. The film tells the incredible story of how businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald joined with African-American communities in the South to build schools for the black community during the early part of the 20th century.
"My Favorite Neoconservative"
Raised in the Washington suburbs, the film’s director, Yael Luttwak watched inside the Beltway bigwigs walk the halls of her childhood home; her father, Edward Luttwak, is a prominent conservative military strategist who was the architect of the air campaign of the first Iraq war. The documentary reveals the personalities behind the headlines and tells a father-daughter story with a sardonic political twist. The film will be screened Sunday, March 1, at 3:15 p.m. at the Dcjcc.
Ticket Information
Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets online. In addition to $12 single tickets, Wjff will be offering full festival passes for $125 and All Access VIP Passes for $225. More information is available at www.wjff.org and by calling 1-888-718-4253.
About the Washington Jewish Film Festival
The Washington Jewish Film Festival (Wjff) is the centerpiece of the Washington Dcjcc’s comprehensive year-round film program. One of the largest and most respected Jewish film festivals in North America, Wjff is an international exhibition of cinema that celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture and experience through the moving image.
The Wjff serves over 15,000 people annually through 80+ screenings, nearly all of which are world, U.S. or regional premieres.
Follow the Washington Jewish Film Festival on Twitter ( @wjff ) for updates with the latest information about the festival and filmmakers who will participate in the Wjff Lounge. Join the conversation using #wjff2015 on social media.
About the Washington Dcjcc
The Washington Dcjcc works to preserve and strengthen Jewish identity, heritage, tradition and values through a wide variety of social, cultural, recreational and educational programs and services. The Dcjcc is committed to welcoming everyone in the community; membership and all activities are open to all. The Dcjcc is a partner agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and a designated agency of the United Way. Follow on Twitter ( @16thstreetj ), like on Facebook , and find more information online at www.washingtondcjcc.org .
The Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts at the Dcjcc, of which the Wjff and the year-round film series are a part, presents fresh, pertinent and provocative Jewish voices that address issues both contemporary and universal. The Center is supported by a grant from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
“For 25 years, this festival has celebrated international cinema in building the single largest Jewish cultural event in Washington,” said Ilya Tovbis, Washington Jewish Film Festival director. “With our most ambitious festival to date, the 25th Wjff will honor a quarter-century of exhibiting the full diversity of the Jewish experience.”
A full festival schedule can be found at www.wjff.org. Highlights are included below.
Among the programs scheduled to take the festival beyond the screen are the 5th Annual Community Education Day on Arab Citizens of Israel, a day of in-depth exploration of the daily lives and challenges of Israel’s Arab population through a keynote address by the president of Al-Qasemi College of Engineering and Science, a panel discussion among Middle East experts, and the D.C. premiere of the film, Dancing Arabs, with its filmmaker Eran Riklis (Sunday, February 22, from 1:30-5 p.m. at the Dcjcc); a state of the cinema address on Israeli documentary film (Tuesday, February 24, at 7 p.m. at the Dcjcc); a pre-festival workshop led by leading Washington and New York film critics for a small group of Washington students; a short film student competition; and the third iteration of Two Jews Walk into a Bar, a cinematic bar event (Sunday, February 8, at 5 p.m.)
Opening Night Film: "Magic Men"
Opening Night will feature "Magic Men," in which a 78-year-old Greek-born atheist (Makram Khouri, Ophir-winner for Best Actor) and his estranged Hasidic rapper son travel from Israel to Greece searching for the magician who saved the father’s life during World War II. Their Adriatic road trip erupts into constant bickering but also has moments of affection, humor, and good will, as father and son reconnect during their adventure. The film is the latest feature from the directors of "Mabul," "A Matter of Size," and "Strangers." Opening Night will be held Thursday, February 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, and The Opening Night Party with Director Guy Nattiv will be held at the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza immediately following the screening.
Centerpiece Evening: "Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem"
Wjff’s Centerpiece Evening will take place at the AFI Silver Theatre on Saturday, February 21, at 7 p.m. and feature an extended Q&A session with Theodore Bikel, the unstoppable performer whose career spans more than 150 screen roles (including an Oscar-nominated turn in The Defiant Ones) and countless stage and musical productions. In "Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem," portraits of two beloved icons—Sholom Aleichem and Theodore Bikel—are woven together in an enchanting new documentary. The two men have much in common: wit, wisdom and talent, filled with deep humanity and Yiddishkeit. Theodore Bikel, now 90, Bikel has played Tevye the Milkman on stage more than 2,000 times, and has animated Aleichem's work through his two celebrated musical plays about the great Russian author. An additional screening will take place Monday, February 23, at 8:45 p.m. at the Washington Dcjcc.
Wjff Visionary Award: "Hester Street"
The Annual Wjff Visionary Award recognizes creativity and insight in presenting the full diversity of the Jewish experience through the moving image. The 2015 honorees are Carol Kane and Joan Micklin Silver. Carol Kane will be present at a screening of her Oscar-nominated performance in Silver’s humorous and poignant movie, "Hester Street," about a traditional Jewish woman (Carol Kane) who arrives with her son to America in the 1890s, only to discover that her cheating husband has assimilated and resents his wife’s old-fashioned ways. The Wjff Visionary Award will be presented Tuesday, February 24, at 7:15 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre.
Spotlight Evening: "East Jerusalem, West Jerusalem"
Israeli-Palestinian singer Mira Awad and songwriter Steve Earle will join legendary singer-songwriter David Broza for a 45-minute musical set and Q&A following a screening of "East Jerusalem, West Jerusalem" on Thursday, February 26, at 7 p.m. at Sidney Harman Hall of the Shakespeare Theater Company. In the film, Broza journeys to East Jerusalem to record his latest album with Israeli, Palestinian and American musicians.
Closing Night: "Mr. Kaplan"
The 25th Wjff will come to a close at the Dcjcc on March 1, at 7:30 p.m. with a screening of Uruguay’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, "Mr. Kaplan." In Uruguayan director Alvaro Brechner’s 2014 feature film, 76-year-old Jacob Kaplan, fed up with his community and his family’s lack of interest in its own heritage, becomes convinced that his German neighbor is a runaway Nazi and secretly takes on the role of a spy, but he is no match for the forces of age. This heartwarming comedy tells the truth of life that transcends time and ideology. The Closing Night Reception and Audience Award announcements follow the screening.
Additional Films of Note
Nominated for this year’s Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, the 2014 Israeli film "Gett, the Trial of Viviane Amsalem," will be screened Wednesday, February 25, at 8:45 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre. Director Ronit Elkabetz tells the story of Amsalem, who is seeking a Jewish divorce from her estranged husband, who repeatedly refuses over the course of several years, leaving Amsalem locked in a seemingly unending battle created by the rules of Orthodox marriage in Israel. The film is Israel’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award and was the Israeli Film Academy’s 2014 Best Film.
The Hebrew language "The Farewell Party" is a dark comedy about a group of friends at a Jerusalem retirement home who build a machine for self-euthanasia to help a terminally ill friend – and then requests start coming in from more and more fellow retirement home residents interested in such a service. To be screened Saturday, February 28 at 7 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre, and then again on Sunday, March 1, at 5:15 p.m. at the Dcjcc, the film won 2015 Ophir Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Actor.
"Next to Her," also in Hebrew with English subtitles, tells the arresting story of Chelli and her mentally disabled sister, whom she is raising by herself until required by a social worker to place her in a day-care center, only to then meet a man who leads to a relationship triangle between the three. The film was a critically acclaimed selection for the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. It will be screened Monday, February 23 at 7:15 p.m. at AFI Silver Theatre; Thursday, February 26 at 8:30 p.m. at the Katzen Arts Center at American University; and Saturday, February 28 at 6:45 p.m. at the Jcc of Greater Washington in Rockville.
Silent Films with Live Original Music: "Breaking Home Ties" and "The Golem"
On Monday, February 23, Wjff will screen the first of two silent films with live original music accompaniment. At 6:30 p.m. at the Dcjcc, pianist Donald Sosin and violinist Joseph Morag will accompany the 1922 silent film, "Breaking Home Ties." Then on Thursday, February 26 at 7:15 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre, Grammy-nominated Gary Lucas will present a reprisal of one of his most beloved original scores, the 1920 German silent horror-fantasy-expressionist film "The Golem," the tale of a 16th-century rabbi who made a man out of clay to save the Jewish community of Prague from annihilation.
Films with Local Ties/Themes
"The Rosenwald Schools"
On Wednesday, February 25, at 6:30 p.m., local filmmaker and former Washington Film Festival Director Aviva Kempner will be present for the world premiere of her new documentary at the Avalon Theater. The film tells the incredible story of how businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald joined with African-American communities in the South to build schools for the black community during the early part of the 20th century.
"My Favorite Neoconservative"
Raised in the Washington suburbs, the film’s director, Yael Luttwak watched inside the Beltway bigwigs walk the halls of her childhood home; her father, Edward Luttwak, is a prominent conservative military strategist who was the architect of the air campaign of the first Iraq war. The documentary reveals the personalities behind the headlines and tells a father-daughter story with a sardonic political twist. The film will be screened Sunday, March 1, at 3:15 p.m. at the Dcjcc.
Ticket Information
Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets online. In addition to $12 single tickets, Wjff will be offering full festival passes for $125 and All Access VIP Passes for $225. More information is available at www.wjff.org and by calling 1-888-718-4253.
About the Washington Jewish Film Festival
The Washington Jewish Film Festival (Wjff) is the centerpiece of the Washington Dcjcc’s comprehensive year-round film program. One of the largest and most respected Jewish film festivals in North America, Wjff is an international exhibition of cinema that celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture and experience through the moving image.
The Wjff serves over 15,000 people annually through 80+ screenings, nearly all of which are world, U.S. or regional premieres.
Follow the Washington Jewish Film Festival on Twitter ( @wjff ) for updates with the latest information about the festival and filmmakers who will participate in the Wjff Lounge. Join the conversation using #wjff2015 on social media.
About the Washington Dcjcc
The Washington Dcjcc works to preserve and strengthen Jewish identity, heritage, tradition and values through a wide variety of social, cultural, recreational and educational programs and services. The Dcjcc is committed to welcoming everyone in the community; membership and all activities are open to all. The Dcjcc is a partner agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and a designated agency of the United Way. Follow on Twitter ( @16thstreetj ), like on Facebook , and find more information online at www.washingtondcjcc.org .
The Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts at the Dcjcc, of which the Wjff and the year-round film series are a part, presents fresh, pertinent and provocative Jewish voices that address issues both contemporary and universal. The Center is supported by a grant from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
- 1/24/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Eran Riklis’ drama formerly known as Dancing Arabs is based on Sayed Kashua’s adaptation of his novel of the same name and premiered in Locarno last year.
A Borrowed Identity follows a Palestinian-Israeli student in the 1990s who wrestles with his identity after he is accepted into a prestigious Jewish boarding school.
Tawfeek Barhom, Yael Abecassis, Michael Moshonov and Ali Suliman star.
Jon Gerrans of Strand Releasing brokered the deal with Brigitte Suarez of The Match Factory.
Strand distributed Riklis’ previous film Zaytoun starring Stephen Dorff.
A Borrowed Identity follows a Palestinian-Israeli student in the 1990s who wrestles with his identity after he is accepted into a prestigious Jewish boarding school.
Tawfeek Barhom, Yael Abecassis, Michael Moshonov and Ali Suliman star.
Jon Gerrans of Strand Releasing brokered the deal with Brigitte Suarez of The Match Factory.
Strand distributed Riklis’ previous film Zaytoun starring Stephen Dorff.
- 1/21/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Palm Springs International Film Festival is the most accommodating to the industry, the easiest to get around with a frequent shuttle, the easiest to see great films, the best environment, the best audiences (all the shows are sold out) of festivals.
However, it is strange being surrounded by old people who are all my age. My prejudices against “old people” remains the same as when I considered them to be a part of my mother’s generation. However, some of these “old people” know so much more about the films, and their educated way of making choices of what to see are so much better than mine. I thought I knew everything...what a laugh. They know every director, all their past films, and they painstakingly plan with handwritten schedules and lots of discussion which films they will see.
I have been coming to the festival, almost “dropping in” on it since it is a mere 2 hour drive from L.A. for many years and everyone is always so helpful. It is totally familiar to me; it’s leisurely, very few restaurants (if any) are really great, there is a certain tackiness to the shops And there are always new film adventures and new folks to see.
This year I was happily hanging out the first weekend with Nancy Gerstman from Zeitgeist, and on the second weekend with Fortissimo’s Michael Werner and Tom Davia whose new company CineMaven (www.Cinemaven.com) sounds like a great company for festivals, filmmakers and companies needing acquisition help. We had a great dinner at Spencer’s where the Awards Luncheon was held.
On the recommendation of Mattijs Wouter Knol, the new head of the European Film Market at Berlin – on Facebook as he is now preparing the Efm and was not here – I watched “Clouds of Sils Maria” by Olivier Assayas. Opinions on this film as with most films by Assayas, vary, but mine is that this languid study on acting and real life and how aging and death fit into the mix was a major treat. Like Polanski’s “Venus in Fur”, the alternating currents of acting and real life flow electrically with shocks and illumination included. Rather than aging, let’s call ourselves “ageless” and have an end to confusion about the inevitable life processes.
Like “Winters Sleep," another of my favorite “intellectual cinema” choices, in “Sils Maria”, the interior processes of the protagonists are revealed only in the unfolding of the story.
Kirsten Stewart played an amazing role as the actress’s young assistant in this deeply felt, intellectually worked out study of aging vs. ageless.
By biting off what seems like more than she can chew in consenting to play opposite the great Juliette Binoche who is at the height of her career, a young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal (Chloë Grace Moretz) gives Juliette Binoche the resolution to the unhappiness that has been nagging at her throughout the film.
Maria Enders is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years earlier. But back then, she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She doesn’t want to play this role but is coaxed by circumstances into playing it and when she discusses it with the young actress who blithely tells her it’s time to move on, she becomes the Eve of “All About Eve” and Juliette “gets” it.
Cinematography is by Yorick Le Saux (“Only Lovers Left Alive," “Potiche," “Carlos”). IFC has North American rights.
Moving on, I can’t wait to see Juliette Binoche in her next role, the Opening Night film of the Berlinale, Isabel Croixet's “Nobody Wants the Night ”. The film co-stars Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi (“Babel”) and Gabriel Byrne (as explorer Robert Peary) and takes place in 1908 in the Arctic and Greenland. (Isa: Elle Driver
The other film I saw that first weekend was “Dancing Arabs” (Isa: The Match Factory) by Eran Riklis who was there to discuss the film as well. He had been a soldier in Israel’s worst war. He witnessed Sadat making peace with Israel. However, when Perez was assassinated, he saw Israel declining into a violent nation as peace became more and more elusive.
Dancing Arabs is a very popular novel in Israel. It is an odd title for this film, but it derives from a saying, “you can't dance at two weddings at the same time”. The film is also loosely based on another novel...Second Person Singular. But after filming a while, the characters took on lives of their own and the novels were more or less forgotten in the process of making the movie.
Lots of questions are left open in this film because there are no answers. In a way, the film is experimental. It opens as a charming family film, but changes and actually becomes almost morbid. People however do change, and the young “genius” living in a small Arab town in Israel/ Palestine becomes a mature man living in Berlin at the end of the story.
This is the first film of the male lead, Tawfeek Barhom. Who plays Eyad. While casting, Riklis said that the young actor told him he had known him since he was ten when he saw him making the movie “The Syrian Bride” in his village. He went to set every day for three weeks, and he knew he wanted to be an actor. On screen he is playing himself, and a lot of the story was true...he lived too long with the Jews, his Arab was no longer good. This he said at a screening held in the north of Israel to an audience of mostly Arabs who do not go to many movies, but were invited by Israel to see the film.
In the film he gives up his education for love of girl and she gives up her love for him for the love of her country. This is how minority relationships often turn out.
Eyad’s father’s reaction to the relationship of his university student son with an Israeli Jewish student is unexpected, but he too is buried by tradition whereas the mother with her small smile gives a ray of hope.
The scriptwriter-novelist, Sayed Kashua is brilliant, and this is a part of his real life. Kashua and Riklis have a love-hate relationship: when Kashua, who based the novel on his own life, saw the fine cut...he fainted. His wife said, “What are you complaining about, did your mother look like that?”
Sayed said complained that his own kids don't speak Arabic anymore, and so he took a sabbatical and is now in Champaign-Urbana at the University of Illinois.
The audience in Israel, judging by the 20 to 30 Facebook comments, they get daily consists of 20% Arabs which is great because they don't normally go to movies. Even a right wing Israeli said he liked the movie. The goes beyond right and left.
It is not a blockbuster, but it doing well. The word “Arab” might keep some people away.
On the second weekend I went to see “Salt of the Earth” (Isa: Ndm), now nominated for Best Feature Documentary at the Academy Awards, and “Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson” by her grandniece Michelle Boyaner.
Sebastião Salgado’s photographs are linked by his son and director Wim Wenders to his life. With his own voice and that of his son, Juliano, they discover the undiscovered in photography and in their own lives.
“Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson” is the story of artist Edith Lake Wilkinson, committed to an asylum in 1925 and never heard from again. All her worldly possessions were packed into trunks and shipped to a relative in West Virginia where they sat in an attic for 40 years. Edith's great-niece, Emmy Award winning writer and director Jane Anderson, grew up surrounded by Edith's paintings, thanks to her mother who had gone poking through that dusty attic and rescued Edith's work. The film follows Jane in her decades-long journey to find the answers to the mystery of Edith's buried life, return the work to Provincetown and have Edith's contributions recognized by the larger art world.
Read More: Sydney Levine on "Finding Vivian Maier"
In many ways this is similar to “Finding Vivian Maier," which also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Feature Documentary category, in that both recover long lost and never acknowledged art which is astoundingly good art. This one goes further into the lesbian relationships of artists Edith and Jane and takes another unexpected step into the psychic world of a medium who actually solves the mystery of why Edith was committed and then forgotten. This is a must-see for art lovers and would make a great fiction film as well.
Another notable aspect of Psiff that is how, just before the Awards begin for Golden Globe and for the Academy, all the big name stars are here for two awards events. One, the opening night gala raises millions for the festival. The other, Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch brunch, brings more stars and that funny speech by Chris Rock (See Video Here).
Read More: Dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev on his Oscar-Nominated "Leviathan"
Also remarkable is that, aside from the above Awards and then the final festival awards bestowed, the Golden Globes mirrored the Palm Springs Fest’s awards:
Actress in a drama: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” (Isa: Memento) won Psiff’s Achievement Award
Actor in a drama: Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything” (Uip) also received the Psiff Desert Palm Achievement Award.
Supporting actor, drama: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” (Isa: Sierra/ Affinity) received the Psiff Spotlight Award.
Director Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” (Uip/ Paramount) received the Sonny Bono Visionary Award.
Foreign Language Film: "Leviathan” (Isa: Pyramide) received the PSiFF Best Foreign Language Film.
Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, “Birdman” (Fox Searchlight), Inarritu received Psiff Director of the Year Award which was bestowed by “Birdman” star Michael Keaton. And the Golden Globe Award for Actor, musical or comedy, went to Michael Keaton for “Birdman”...
However, it is strange being surrounded by old people who are all my age. My prejudices against “old people” remains the same as when I considered them to be a part of my mother’s generation. However, some of these “old people” know so much more about the films, and their educated way of making choices of what to see are so much better than mine. I thought I knew everything...what a laugh. They know every director, all their past films, and they painstakingly plan with handwritten schedules and lots of discussion which films they will see.
I have been coming to the festival, almost “dropping in” on it since it is a mere 2 hour drive from L.A. for many years and everyone is always so helpful. It is totally familiar to me; it’s leisurely, very few restaurants (if any) are really great, there is a certain tackiness to the shops And there are always new film adventures and new folks to see.
This year I was happily hanging out the first weekend with Nancy Gerstman from Zeitgeist, and on the second weekend with Fortissimo’s Michael Werner and Tom Davia whose new company CineMaven (www.Cinemaven.com) sounds like a great company for festivals, filmmakers and companies needing acquisition help. We had a great dinner at Spencer’s where the Awards Luncheon was held.
On the recommendation of Mattijs Wouter Knol, the new head of the European Film Market at Berlin – on Facebook as he is now preparing the Efm and was not here – I watched “Clouds of Sils Maria” by Olivier Assayas. Opinions on this film as with most films by Assayas, vary, but mine is that this languid study on acting and real life and how aging and death fit into the mix was a major treat. Like Polanski’s “Venus in Fur”, the alternating currents of acting and real life flow electrically with shocks and illumination included. Rather than aging, let’s call ourselves “ageless” and have an end to confusion about the inevitable life processes.
Like “Winters Sleep," another of my favorite “intellectual cinema” choices, in “Sils Maria”, the interior processes of the protagonists are revealed only in the unfolding of the story.
Kirsten Stewart played an amazing role as the actress’s young assistant in this deeply felt, intellectually worked out study of aging vs. ageless.
By biting off what seems like more than she can chew in consenting to play opposite the great Juliette Binoche who is at the height of her career, a young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal (Chloë Grace Moretz) gives Juliette Binoche the resolution to the unhappiness that has been nagging at her throughout the film.
Maria Enders is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years earlier. But back then, she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She doesn’t want to play this role but is coaxed by circumstances into playing it and when she discusses it with the young actress who blithely tells her it’s time to move on, she becomes the Eve of “All About Eve” and Juliette “gets” it.
Cinematography is by Yorick Le Saux (“Only Lovers Left Alive," “Potiche," “Carlos”). IFC has North American rights.
Moving on, I can’t wait to see Juliette Binoche in her next role, the Opening Night film of the Berlinale, Isabel Croixet's “Nobody Wants the Night ”. The film co-stars Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi (“Babel”) and Gabriel Byrne (as explorer Robert Peary) and takes place in 1908 in the Arctic and Greenland. (Isa: Elle Driver
The other film I saw that first weekend was “Dancing Arabs” (Isa: The Match Factory) by Eran Riklis who was there to discuss the film as well. He had been a soldier in Israel’s worst war. He witnessed Sadat making peace with Israel. However, when Perez was assassinated, he saw Israel declining into a violent nation as peace became more and more elusive.
Dancing Arabs is a very popular novel in Israel. It is an odd title for this film, but it derives from a saying, “you can't dance at two weddings at the same time”. The film is also loosely based on another novel...Second Person Singular. But after filming a while, the characters took on lives of their own and the novels were more or less forgotten in the process of making the movie.
Lots of questions are left open in this film because there are no answers. In a way, the film is experimental. It opens as a charming family film, but changes and actually becomes almost morbid. People however do change, and the young “genius” living in a small Arab town in Israel/ Palestine becomes a mature man living in Berlin at the end of the story.
This is the first film of the male lead, Tawfeek Barhom. Who plays Eyad. While casting, Riklis said that the young actor told him he had known him since he was ten when he saw him making the movie “The Syrian Bride” in his village. He went to set every day for three weeks, and he knew he wanted to be an actor. On screen he is playing himself, and a lot of the story was true...he lived too long with the Jews, his Arab was no longer good. This he said at a screening held in the north of Israel to an audience of mostly Arabs who do not go to many movies, but were invited by Israel to see the film.
In the film he gives up his education for love of girl and she gives up her love for him for the love of her country. This is how minority relationships often turn out.
Eyad’s father’s reaction to the relationship of his university student son with an Israeli Jewish student is unexpected, but he too is buried by tradition whereas the mother with her small smile gives a ray of hope.
The scriptwriter-novelist, Sayed Kashua is brilliant, and this is a part of his real life. Kashua and Riklis have a love-hate relationship: when Kashua, who based the novel on his own life, saw the fine cut...he fainted. His wife said, “What are you complaining about, did your mother look like that?”
Sayed said complained that his own kids don't speak Arabic anymore, and so he took a sabbatical and is now in Champaign-Urbana at the University of Illinois.
The audience in Israel, judging by the 20 to 30 Facebook comments, they get daily consists of 20% Arabs which is great because they don't normally go to movies. Even a right wing Israeli said he liked the movie. The goes beyond right and left.
It is not a blockbuster, but it doing well. The word “Arab” might keep some people away.
On the second weekend I went to see “Salt of the Earth” (Isa: Ndm), now nominated for Best Feature Documentary at the Academy Awards, and “Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson” by her grandniece Michelle Boyaner.
Sebastião Salgado’s photographs are linked by his son and director Wim Wenders to his life. With his own voice and that of his son, Juliano, they discover the undiscovered in photography and in their own lives.
“Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson” is the story of artist Edith Lake Wilkinson, committed to an asylum in 1925 and never heard from again. All her worldly possessions were packed into trunks and shipped to a relative in West Virginia where they sat in an attic for 40 years. Edith's great-niece, Emmy Award winning writer and director Jane Anderson, grew up surrounded by Edith's paintings, thanks to her mother who had gone poking through that dusty attic and rescued Edith's work. The film follows Jane in her decades-long journey to find the answers to the mystery of Edith's buried life, return the work to Provincetown and have Edith's contributions recognized by the larger art world.
Read More: Sydney Levine on "Finding Vivian Maier"
In many ways this is similar to “Finding Vivian Maier," which also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Feature Documentary category, in that both recover long lost and never acknowledged art which is astoundingly good art. This one goes further into the lesbian relationships of artists Edith and Jane and takes another unexpected step into the psychic world of a medium who actually solves the mystery of why Edith was committed and then forgotten. This is a must-see for art lovers and would make a great fiction film as well.
Another notable aspect of Psiff that is how, just before the Awards begin for Golden Globe and for the Academy, all the big name stars are here for two awards events. One, the opening night gala raises millions for the festival. The other, Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch brunch, brings more stars and that funny speech by Chris Rock (See Video Here).
Read More: Dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev on his Oscar-Nominated "Leviathan"
Also remarkable is that, aside from the above Awards and then the final festival awards bestowed, the Golden Globes mirrored the Palm Springs Fest’s awards:
Actress in a drama: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” (Isa: Memento) won Psiff’s Achievement Award
Actor in a drama: Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything” (Uip) also received the Psiff Desert Palm Achievement Award.
Supporting actor, drama: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” (Isa: Sierra/ Affinity) received the Psiff Spotlight Award.
Director Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” (Uip/ Paramount) received the Sonny Bono Visionary Award.
Foreign Language Film: "Leviathan” (Isa: Pyramide) received the PSiFF Best Foreign Language Film.
Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, “Birdman” (Fox Searchlight), Inarritu received Psiff Director of the Year Award which was bestowed by “Birdman” star Michael Keaton. And the Golden Globe Award for Actor, musical or comedy, went to Michael Keaton for “Birdman”...
- 1/17/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) has announced its complete line-up including Premieres, New Voices/New Visions and Modern Masters.
All in all 192 films from 65 countries, including 65 premieres (seven world, five international, 20 North American and 33 Us) will screen from January 2-12.
Premieres including Some Kind Of Love (Canada), Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman Of La Mancha (USA) starring James Franco and Twenty-Five Palms from Luxembourg, a documentary about the festival’s quarter-century anniversary.
Among the international premieres are: Accused (Netherlands), The Grandad (Iceland) and Arteholic (Germany), a documentary featuring Udo Kier and Lars von Trier, among others.
The Secret Screening will take place on January 6.
The New Voices/New Visions Award focuses on directors whose feature debuts are currently without Us distribution.
The selections are: Afterlife (Hungary), Director Virág Zomborácz; Chubby (Belgium), Bruno Deville; Fidelio, Alice’s Journey (France), Lucie Borleteau; Grand Street (USA), Lex Sidon; Henri Henri (Canada), Martin Talbot; Manpower (Israel), [link...
All in all 192 films from 65 countries, including 65 premieres (seven world, five international, 20 North American and 33 Us) will screen from January 2-12.
Premieres including Some Kind Of Love (Canada), Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman Of La Mancha (USA) starring James Franco and Twenty-Five Palms from Luxembourg, a documentary about the festival’s quarter-century anniversary.
Among the international premieres are: Accused (Netherlands), The Grandad (Iceland) and Arteholic (Germany), a documentary featuring Udo Kier and Lars von Trier, among others.
The Secret Screening will take place on January 6.
The New Voices/New Visions Award focuses on directors whose feature debuts are currently without Us distribution.
The selections are: Afterlife (Hungary), Director Virág Zomborácz; Chubby (Belgium), Bruno Deville; Fidelio, Alice’s Journey (France), Lucie Borleteau; Grand Street (USA), Lex Sidon; Henri Henri (Canada), Martin Talbot; Manpower (Israel), [link...
- 12/18/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) has announced its complete line-up including Premieres, New Voices/New Visions and Modern Masters.
All in all 192 films from 65 countries, including 65 premieres (seven world, five international, 20 North American and 33 Us) will screen from January 2-12.
Premieres including Some Kind Of Love (Canada), Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman Of La Mancha (USA) starring James Franco and Twenty-Five Palms from Luxembourg, a documentary about the festival’s quarter-century anniversary.
Among the international premieres are: Accused (Netherlands), The Grandad (Iceland) and Arteholic (Germany), a documentary featuring Udo Kier and Lars von Trier, among others.
The Secret Screening will take place on January 6.
The New Voices/New Visions Award focuses on directors whose feature debuts are currently without Us distribution.
The selections are: Afterlife (Hungary), Director Virág Zomborácz; Chubby (Belgium), Bruno Deville; Fidelio, Alice’s Journey (France), Lucie Borleteau; Grand Street (USA), Lex Sidon; Henri Henri (Canada), Martin Talbot; Manpower (Israel), [link...
All in all 192 films from 65 countries, including 65 premieres (seven world, five international, 20 North American and 33 Us) will screen from January 2-12.
Premieres including Some Kind Of Love (Canada), Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman Of La Mancha (USA) starring James Franco and Twenty-Five Palms from Luxembourg, a documentary about the festival’s quarter-century anniversary.
Among the international premieres are: Accused (Netherlands), The Grandad (Iceland) and Arteholic (Germany), a documentary featuring Udo Kier and Lars von Trier, among others.
The Secret Screening will take place on January 6.
The New Voices/New Visions Award focuses on directors whose feature debuts are currently without Us distribution.
The selections are: Afterlife (Hungary), Director Virág Zomborácz; Chubby (Belgium), Bruno Deville; Fidelio, Alice’s Journey (France), Lucie Borleteau; Grand Street (USA), Lex Sidon; Henri Henri (Canada), Martin Talbot; Manpower (Israel), [link...
- 12/18/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Jon Stewart made the packed audience laugh while he was in Telluride, Colorado this past Labor Day weekend (29 August to 1 September, 2014) while he was introducing his new film, "Rosewater."
“I am just starting to adjust to the altitude, so I guess that means it is time for me to leave to go home now. What is the best thing for adjusting to high altitude? Water. So, most of you are hydrating and drinking a lot of water? And now I get to watch you squirm in your seats while you watch "Rosewater," because you won’t be able to use the bathroom for the next two hours.”
The 41st Telluride Film Festival is hard to get to, but worth the trip, and showcases the most anticipated U.S. premieres from first time filmmakers like Jon Stewart to veteran filmmakers including Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Bennett Miller. There were also several classic auteurs honored such as Orson Welles, his incomplete feature, made just three years before Citizen Kane, which was never shown publicly, "The Magician," a 2014 documentary about Orson Welles himself, Robert Altman's, "California Split," 1974, and Francis Ford Coppola,"Apocalypse Now," 1979, A Close-up on Apocalypse Now and Hearts of Darkness, 1991. The festival has a low key, small, casual, and approachable style, without any fancy red carpets.
At 8,750 feet, this gorgeous mountain town, with a history rich in mining, is set in a valley surrounded by mountain peaks. The sun shines in that Rocky Mountain High sort of way which places a halo around the person you are talking to. The screenings are held at approximately 12 venues all within walking distance in town, and if you ascend in the gondola 1,000 to 2,000 additional feet, to Mountain Village (a ski resort plaza with hotels, outdoors shops, and restaurants), there is another 500 seat theater, named after Chuck Jones. The gondola is very safe, is powered by solar energy, and offers 360 degree panoramic mountain views. It is breathtakingly gorgeous and offers the opportunity to meet others who share the same passion for film as yourself.
There are three airports that service the Telluride area; Telluride, Montrose, and Durango, and if you are unable to fly directly into Telluride (because soon it will be for private flights only), Tellurides.com offers transportation from Montrose or Durango. It may sound far to an East Coaster, but the hour and 20 minute ride from Montrose to Telluride is part of the vacation as you drive by ranches, 14,000 foot peaks, red rocks, and rivers with trout jumping from them. In other words, getting there is half the fun.
I saw 10 films in only four days, most of them brought me on an emotional catharsis.
Films included the following;
Foxcatcher : the sports drama about two brothers, both Olympic gold medalists in wrestling, and an eccentric wealthy mentor.
Wild : based on the novel by Cheryl Strayed, about a recently divorced woman who reflects back on her past and her relationship with her mother and ex-husband as she hikes the Pacific Crest Trail.
The Homesman : Tommy Lee Jones as a claim jumper, who tries to help three troubled women make it across the prairie safely,
Birdman : a washed up action film actor who tries to rekindle his career in the theater,
Red Army : a hockey documentary about the Cold War,
71 : an Ira war drama set in Belfast, starring Jack O’Connell from “Starred Up,”
Rosewater : based on the true story about a detained journalist (Maziar Bahari) in Iran.
Paradise Lost : a Godfather-like film about Pablo Escobar starring Benicio del Toro, and Josh Hutcherson, and lastly,
Dancing Arabs : a young boys viewpoint growing up Arabic in Israel.
All the films took me on an emotional rollercoaster, to say the least.
Many films received terrific buzz at the festival. There is already talk of Oscar contention for Foxcatcher, Birdman, and Imitation Game.
“I am just starting to adjust to the altitude, so I guess that means it is time for me to leave to go home now. What is the best thing for adjusting to high altitude? Water. So, most of you are hydrating and drinking a lot of water? And now I get to watch you squirm in your seats while you watch "Rosewater," because you won’t be able to use the bathroom for the next two hours.”
The 41st Telluride Film Festival is hard to get to, but worth the trip, and showcases the most anticipated U.S. premieres from first time filmmakers like Jon Stewart to veteran filmmakers including Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Bennett Miller. There were also several classic auteurs honored such as Orson Welles, his incomplete feature, made just three years before Citizen Kane, which was never shown publicly, "The Magician," a 2014 documentary about Orson Welles himself, Robert Altman's, "California Split," 1974, and Francis Ford Coppola,"Apocalypse Now," 1979, A Close-up on Apocalypse Now and Hearts of Darkness, 1991. The festival has a low key, small, casual, and approachable style, without any fancy red carpets.
At 8,750 feet, this gorgeous mountain town, with a history rich in mining, is set in a valley surrounded by mountain peaks. The sun shines in that Rocky Mountain High sort of way which places a halo around the person you are talking to. The screenings are held at approximately 12 venues all within walking distance in town, and if you ascend in the gondola 1,000 to 2,000 additional feet, to Mountain Village (a ski resort plaza with hotels, outdoors shops, and restaurants), there is another 500 seat theater, named after Chuck Jones. The gondola is very safe, is powered by solar energy, and offers 360 degree panoramic mountain views. It is breathtakingly gorgeous and offers the opportunity to meet others who share the same passion for film as yourself.
There are three airports that service the Telluride area; Telluride, Montrose, and Durango, and if you are unable to fly directly into Telluride (because soon it will be for private flights only), Tellurides.com offers transportation from Montrose or Durango. It may sound far to an East Coaster, but the hour and 20 minute ride from Montrose to Telluride is part of the vacation as you drive by ranches, 14,000 foot peaks, red rocks, and rivers with trout jumping from them. In other words, getting there is half the fun.
I saw 10 films in only four days, most of them brought me on an emotional catharsis.
Films included the following;
Foxcatcher : the sports drama about two brothers, both Olympic gold medalists in wrestling, and an eccentric wealthy mentor.
Wild : based on the novel by Cheryl Strayed, about a recently divorced woman who reflects back on her past and her relationship with her mother and ex-husband as she hikes the Pacific Crest Trail.
The Homesman : Tommy Lee Jones as a claim jumper, who tries to help three troubled women make it across the prairie safely,
Birdman : a washed up action film actor who tries to rekindle his career in the theater,
Red Army : a hockey documentary about the Cold War,
71 : an Ira war drama set in Belfast, starring Jack O’Connell from “Starred Up,”
Rosewater : based on the true story about a detained journalist (Maziar Bahari) in Iran.
Paradise Lost : a Godfather-like film about Pablo Escobar starring Benicio del Toro, and Josh Hutcherson, and lastly,
Dancing Arabs : a young boys viewpoint growing up Arabic in Israel.
All the films took me on an emotional rollercoaster, to say the least.
Many films received terrific buzz at the festival. There is already talk of Oscar contention for Foxcatcher, Birdman, and Imitation Game.
- 9/5/2014
- by Sharon Abella
- Sydney's Buzz
The opening night feed of the 41st Telluride Film Festival
The phenomenal 41st Telluride Film Festival flew by with lightning speed over Labor Day weekend. It kicked off Friday night with a Russian themed feed for the patrons, guests, and staff on main street, and closed with a joyous Labor Day picnic for the film goers in the town park. The weekend was jammed full of docs, a silent film, a screening of Robert Altman’s California Split with George Segal present, and a copious array of new narrative films. Gems of the festival included Birdman, Dancing Arabs, Rosewater and Foxcatcher.
The festival also showcased the highly anticipated North American premieres of Reese Witherspoon in Wild, Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game, and a sneak peak of Benicio Del Toro in Escobar: Paradise Lost. There were in-depth tributes to actress Hilary Swank (who came with the Tommy Lee Jones helmed...
The phenomenal 41st Telluride Film Festival flew by with lightning speed over Labor Day weekend. It kicked off Friday night with a Russian themed feed for the patrons, guests, and staff on main street, and closed with a joyous Labor Day picnic for the film goers in the town park. The weekend was jammed full of docs, a silent film, a screening of Robert Altman’s California Split with George Segal present, and a copious array of new narrative films. Gems of the festival included Birdman, Dancing Arabs, Rosewater and Foxcatcher.
The festival also showcased the highly anticipated North American premieres of Reese Witherspoon in Wild, Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game, and a sneak peak of Benicio Del Toro in Escobar: Paradise Lost. There were in-depth tributes to actress Hilary Swank (who came with the Tommy Lee Jones helmed...
- 9/3/2014
- by Lane Scarberry
- SoundOnSight
Fury (David Ayer)
[via the BFI]
The programme for the 58th BFI London Film Festival launched today, with Festival Director Clare Stewart presenting this year’s rich and diverse selection of films and events. The lineup includes highly anticipated fall titles including David Ayer’s Fury, Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher, the Sundance smash Whiplash, Jean-Luc Godard’s Goodbye to Language 3D, The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, Jason Reitman’s Men, Women and Children and Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild.
As Britain’s leading film event and one of the world’s oldest film festivals, it introduces the finest new British and international films to an expanding London and UK-wide audience, offering a compelling combination of red carpet glamour, engaged audiences and vibrant exchange. The Festival provides an essential profiling opportunity for films seeking global success at the start of the Awards season, promotes the careers of British and...
[via the BFI]
The programme for the 58th BFI London Film Festival launched today, with Festival Director Clare Stewart presenting this year’s rich and diverse selection of films and events. The lineup includes highly anticipated fall titles including David Ayer’s Fury, Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher, the Sundance smash Whiplash, Jean-Luc Godard’s Goodbye to Language 3D, The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, Jason Reitman’s Men, Women and Children and Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild.
As Britain’s leading film event and one of the world’s oldest film festivals, it introduces the finest new British and international films to an expanding London and UK-wide audience, offering a compelling combination of red carpet glamour, engaged audiences and vibrant exchange. The Festival provides an essential profiling opportunity for films seeking global success at the start of the Awards season, promotes the careers of British and...
- 9/3/2014
- by John
- SoundOnSight
"Dancing Arabs" indulges in a peculiar kind of late ‘80s/early ‘90s nostalgia: a fond wistfulness for a time in the Middle East when Jews and Arabs mostly despised each other, but actual casualties from terrorism or reprisals were few… friendships across the racial/religious divide were more common… and the dream that a West Bank boy and Israeli girl could date only seemed 99 percent impossible. As quaint longings for a more innocent era go, this beats getting misty over Roxette. The coming-of-age film had its American premiere in Telluride after bowing at the Jerusalem Film Festival, in the city where it was largely shot. Its loosely-based-on-a-true-story narrative concerns Eyad (Tawfeek Barhom) being sent off by his proud Arab parents to attend Jerusalem’s finest school; that his ex-activist dad dislikes Jews as much as the next guy isn’t even a factor. In study hall, he falls hard for...
- 9/2/2014
- by Chris Willman
- The Playlist
Main programme includes Birdman, Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game and Rosewater.
The Telluride Film Festival (Aug 29 - Sept 1) has revealed the line-up for its 41st edition, packed with films tipped for awards season.
The festival will include 85 features, short films and revivals representing 28 countries, along with special artist tributes, conversations, panels and education programmes.
The main programme includes Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, starring Michael Keaton, which opened the Venice Film Festival to rave reviews yesterday.
The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, The Homesman, directed by Tommy Lee Jones, and Jon Stewart’s directorial debut Rosewater are all generating awards buzz.
There are also several titles that picked up prizes in Cannes earlier this year including Foxcatcher, which won Bennett Miller best director; Russian drama Leviathan, winner of best screenplay; Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, which saw Timothy Spall win best actor; and jury prize winner Mommy from Xavier Dolan.
The 50 Year Argument (d. Martin Scorsese, [link...
The Telluride Film Festival (Aug 29 - Sept 1) has revealed the line-up for its 41st edition, packed with films tipped for awards season.
The festival will include 85 features, short films and revivals representing 28 countries, along with special artist tributes, conversations, panels and education programmes.
The main programme includes Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, starring Michael Keaton, which opened the Venice Film Festival to rave reviews yesterday.
The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, The Homesman, directed by Tommy Lee Jones, and Jon Stewart’s directorial debut Rosewater are all generating awards buzz.
There are also several titles that picked up prizes in Cannes earlier this year including Foxcatcher, which won Bennett Miller best director; Russian drama Leviathan, winner of best screenplay; Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, which saw Timothy Spall win best actor; and jury prize winner Mommy from Xavier Dolan.
The 50 Year Argument (d. Martin Scorsese, [link...
- 8/28/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Michael Keaton in “Birdman”
As per tradition, the Telluride Film Festival announced its line-up today, just one day before it kicks off. Here is a brief overview of the programming:
The 41st Telluride Film Festival is proud to present the following 25 new feature films to play in its main program:
• The 50 Year Argument (d. Martin Scorsese, David Tedeschi, U.K.-U.S., 2014) • ’71 (d. Yann Demange, U.K., 2014) • 99 Homes (d. Ramin Bahrani, U.S., 2014) • Birdman (d. Alejandro González Iñárritu, U.S., 2014) • Dancing Arabs (d. Eran Riklis, Israel-Germany-France, 2014) • The Decent One (d. Vanessa Lapa, Australia-Israel-Germany, 2014) • Diplomacy (d. Volker Schlöndorff, France-Germany, 2014) • Foxcatcher (d. Bennett Miller, U.S., 2014) • The Gate (d. Régis Wargnier, France-Belgium-Cambodia, 2014) • The Homesman (d. Tommy Lee Jones, U.S., 2014) • The Imitation Game (d. Morten Tyldum, U.K.-U.S., 2014) • Leviathan (d. Andrey Zvgagintsev, Russia, 2014) • The Look Of Silence (d. Joshua Oppenheimer, Denmark-Indonesia-Norway-Finalnd-u.S., 2014) • Madame Bovary (d. Sophie Barthes, U.K.-Belgium,...
As per tradition, the Telluride Film Festival announced its line-up today, just one day before it kicks off. Here is a brief overview of the programming:
The 41st Telluride Film Festival is proud to present the following 25 new feature films to play in its main program:
• The 50 Year Argument (d. Martin Scorsese, David Tedeschi, U.K.-U.S., 2014) • ’71 (d. Yann Demange, U.K., 2014) • 99 Homes (d. Ramin Bahrani, U.S., 2014) • Birdman (d. Alejandro González Iñárritu, U.S., 2014) • Dancing Arabs (d. Eran Riklis, Israel-Germany-France, 2014) • The Decent One (d. Vanessa Lapa, Australia-Israel-Germany, 2014) • Diplomacy (d. Volker Schlöndorff, France-Germany, 2014) • Foxcatcher (d. Bennett Miller, U.S., 2014) • The Gate (d. Régis Wargnier, France-Belgium-Cambodia, 2014) • The Homesman (d. Tommy Lee Jones, U.S., 2014) • The Imitation Game (d. Morten Tyldum, U.K.-U.S., 2014) • Leviathan (d. Andrey Zvgagintsev, Russia, 2014) • The Look Of Silence (d. Joshua Oppenheimer, Denmark-Indonesia-Norway-Finalnd-u.S., 2014) • Madame Bovary (d. Sophie Barthes, U.K.-Belgium,...
- 8/28/2014
- by Lane Scarberry
- SoundOnSight
This year’s edition of the Telluride Film Festival announced its lineup today, revealing that Colorado will play host this weekend to a variety of awards hopefuls. Jean-Marc Vallées’ Wild starring Reese Witherspoon, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game, and Jon Stewart’s directorial debut Rosewater are among the films that will have their world premiere at the festival. (Those movies will also all screen at the Toronto International Film Festival, which instituted new rules about premieres in an attempt to prevent films from making a Colorado pit stop before heading to Canada.) Films like Birdman and...
- 8/28/2014
- by Esther Zuckerman
- EW - Inside Movies
There are a lot of familiar faces in the just announced 2014 Telluride Film Festival line-up, but as much as this fest is about what's officially announced, it's also about what's not mentioned as secret screenings are pretty much what makes Telluride such a buzzy fest, though this year a little bit of snow may also be part of the conversation. As for the titles announced so far you have Venice early standout Birdman, Jon Stewart's Rosewater, The Imitation Game and Jean-Marc Vallee's Wild along with a Ton of Cannes crossover pics including Foxcatcher, The Homesman, Leviathan, Mommy, Mr. Turner, Red Army, Wild Tales and Two Days, One Night. There is plenty of Toronto crossover with many of this pics as well, which also includes Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes, the new Martin Scorsese documentary The 50 Year Argument, Joshua Oppenheimer's The Look of Silence and Ethan Hawke's Seymour among others.
- 8/28/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The 41st Telluride Film Festival, which has become a harbinger of heavyweight Oscar contenders over the past few years, has announced its schedule for the fest – which opens Friday and runs through Labor Day — just as a charter planeload of industry festgoers departs Lax. Despite a well-publicized battle with the upcoming Toronto Film Festival over Oscar-buzzed movies, Telluride honchos Tom Luddy, Gary Meyer and Julie Huntsinger have some pretty impressive contenders in the mix. Of course, film-freak paradise that it is, Telluride is not all about hot awards titles but a mix of programming that always whets the appetite of movie lovers who flock here each Labor Day weekend.
That said, Oscar watchers will be eagerly lining up for Fox Searchlight and New Regency’s Birdman, which is coming directly from its opening-night slot at the Venice Film Festival where it received rapturous reviews — not only for star Michael Keaton...
That said, Oscar watchers will be eagerly lining up for Fox Searchlight and New Regency’s Birdman, which is coming directly from its opening-night slot at the Venice Film Festival where it received rapturous reviews — not only for star Michael Keaton...
- 8/28/2014
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline
Telluride — With all the reindeer games going on in the fall festival world, a lot of the drama and mystery surrounding Telluride's perennially on-the-lowdown program began to seep out like a steadily deflating balloon this year. Toronto, Venice and New York notations of "World Premiere," "Canada Premiere," "New York Premiere" or "International Premiere" and the like made it all rather obvious which films were heading to the San Juans for the 41st edition of the tiny mining village's cinephile gathering, and which were not. But the fact is, if you're in it just for the surprises — or certainly, for the awards-baiting heavies — you're never going to be fully satisfied by the Telluride experience. That having been said, this year's program might just be the most exciting one in my six years of attending. Starting with all of the stuff we were expecting, indeed, Cannes players "Foxcatcher," "Mr. Turner" and "Leviathan...
- 8/28/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Eran Riklis's Dancing Arabs, which screened last week on the Piazza Grande in Locarno, was to have opened the 31st Jerusalem International Film Festival a few weeks ago. "On the screen and off, one was never far from discussion of what was euphemistically called 'the situation,'" notes Nick Pinkerton in a report on this year's Jiff just posted at Film Comment. The opening night gala was cancelled but the screening was merely postponed. "Riklis’s strongest film in several years, this is another well-intentioned plea for coexistence," writes Jay Weissberg in Variety, "though apart from one scene that lays bare, with welcome righteousness, the disturbing orientalism infiltrating even Israeli intellectual circles, the whole thing is rather too scrubbed and clean." » - David Hudson...
- 8/14/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
Eran Riklis's Dancing Arabs, which screened last week on the Piazza Grande in Locarno, was to have opened the 31st Jerusalem International Film Festival a few weeks ago. "On the screen and off, one was never far from discussion of what was euphemistically called 'the situation,'" notes Nick Pinkerton in a report on this year's Jiff just posted at Film Comment. The opening night gala was cancelled but the screening was merely postponed. "Riklis’s strongest film in several years, this is another well-intentioned plea for coexistence," writes Jay Weissberg in Variety, "though apart from one scene that lays bare, with welcome righteousness, the disturbing orientalism infiltrating even Israeli intellectual circles, the whole thing is rather too scrubbed and clean." » - David Hudson...
- 8/14/2014
- Keyframe
Above: Pedro Costa's Horse Money
The Locarno Film Festival has announced their lineup for the 67th edition, taking place this August between the 6th and 16th. It speaks for itself, but, um, wow...
"Every film festival, be it small or large, claims to offer, if not an account of the state of things, then an updated map of the art form and the world it seeks to represent. This cartography should show both the major routes and the byways, along with essential places to visit and those that are more unusual. The Festival del film Locarno is no exception to the rule, and I think that looking through the program you will be able to distinguish the route map for this edition." — Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director
Above: Matías Piñeiro's The Princess of France
Concorso Internazionale (Official Competition)
A Blast (Syllas Tzoumerkas, Greece/Germany/Netherlands)
Alive (Jungbum Park, South Korea)
Horse Money (Pedro Costa,...
The Locarno Film Festival has announced their lineup for the 67th edition, taking place this August between the 6th and 16th. It speaks for itself, but, um, wow...
"Every film festival, be it small or large, claims to offer, if not an account of the state of things, then an updated map of the art form and the world it seeks to represent. This cartography should show both the major routes and the byways, along with essential places to visit and those that are more unusual. The Festival del film Locarno is no exception to the rule, and I think that looking through the program you will be able to distinguish the route map for this edition." — Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director
Above: Matías Piñeiro's The Princess of France
Concorso Internazionale (Official Competition)
A Blast (Syllas Tzoumerkas, Greece/Germany/Netherlands)
Alive (Jungbum Park, South Korea)
Horse Money (Pedro Costa,...
- 7/25/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Ahead of its official ending this weekend in the Holy Land, incessant security tensions ultimately managed to overshadow the Jerusalem Film Festival in its 31st year. The escalating hostilities of recent weeks resulted in Israeli Defense Forces launching Operation Protective Edge a day before the planned festivities at Jerusalem Cinematheque, home to the festival, were about to kick off. The Opening Gala event envisioned to take place on the backdrop of the walls of the Old City, featuring the world premiere of Israeli director Eran Riklis' Dancing Arabs, was initially postponed, and eventually scrapped altogether. Local media attention was preoccupied
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- 7/18/2014
- by David Caspi
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
What’s it like to attend a film festival in a country that turns into a political powderkeg? Usually, festival attendees have only a figurative concern about bombs, and then it’s bad movies. The concern at the just wrapped Jerusalem Film Festival was literal and very scary. Hollywood attendees told me that they were rushed into a bomb shelter, as rockets soared and troops began moving on the ground in the ongoing clash between Israel and Hamas over brutal murders in the West Bank. The opening night film, Sayed Kashua’s Dancing Arabs was cancelled due to the fear of a fusillade […]...
- 7/18/2014
- Deadline
Juliette Binoche - star of Olivier Assayas's Clouds of Sils Maria - and recipient of a career achievement award in Locarno
With special career achievement awards for stellar actresses Mia Farrow and Juliette Binoche and the veteran Armin Mueller-Stahl, as well as a line-up of such diverse talents as Dario Argento, Agnès Varda, Aleksandr Sokurov and Olivier Assayas, the Locarno Film Festival’s director Carlo Chatrian today (16 July) unveiled the cornucopia of delights in store for next month’s bumper 67th edition.
Other names figuring in the cast list include Luc Besson (for the opening film Lucy with Scarlett Johannson), cinematographer Garrett Brown and Spanish director Víctor Erice (both the subject of special focuses and workshop sessions), as well as American star Melanie Griffith, and French actress Julie Depardieu.
The vast 8000-seat Piazza Grande open air auditorium will see a host of international and world premieres among them Jean-Jacques Zilbermann...
With special career achievement awards for stellar actresses Mia Farrow and Juliette Binoche and the veteran Armin Mueller-Stahl, as well as a line-up of such diverse talents as Dario Argento, Agnès Varda, Aleksandr Sokurov and Olivier Assayas, the Locarno Film Festival’s director Carlo Chatrian today (16 July) unveiled the cornucopia of delights in store for next month’s bumper 67th edition.
Other names figuring in the cast list include Luc Besson (for the opening film Lucy with Scarlett Johannson), cinematographer Garrett Brown and Spanish director Víctor Erice (both the subject of special focuses and workshop sessions), as well as American star Melanie Griffith, and French actress Julie Depardieu.
The vast 8000-seat Piazza Grande open air auditorium will see a host of international and world premieres among them Jean-Jacques Zilbermann...
- 7/16/2014
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
13 of the 17 films competing for the Golden Leopard are world premieres; Juliette Binoche to receive Excellence Award.
Full details of the line-up for the 67th Locarno Film Festival, which runs August 6-16, were unveiled at a press conference in the Swiss capital Berne today.
13 of the 17 films competing for the Golden Leopard in the festival’s International Competition section are world premiers including Syllas Tzoumerkas’s A Blast [pictured], Jungbum Park’s Alive (South Korea), Paul Vecchiali’s White Nights On The Pier (France) and Yury Bykov’s The Fool (Russia). International premieres include Alex Ross Perry’s hotly antipated Us comedy Listen Up Philip starring Jason Schwartzman who is expected to attend.
The Piazza Grande line-up includes the international premieres of Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs, Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens’ critically acclaimed Iceland set Land Ho! Which world premiered at Sundance, and Olivier Assayas’ Clouds Of Sils Maria, which played in competition in Cannes. World premieres...
Full details of the line-up for the 67th Locarno Film Festival, which runs August 6-16, were unveiled at a press conference in the Swiss capital Berne today.
13 of the 17 films competing for the Golden Leopard in the festival’s International Competition section are world premiers including Syllas Tzoumerkas’s A Blast [pictured], Jungbum Park’s Alive (South Korea), Paul Vecchiali’s White Nights On The Pier (France) and Yury Bykov’s The Fool (Russia). International premieres include Alex Ross Perry’s hotly antipated Us comedy Listen Up Philip starring Jason Schwartzman who is expected to attend.
The Piazza Grande line-up includes the international premieres of Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs, Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens’ critically acclaimed Iceland set Land Ho! Which world premiered at Sundance, and Olivier Assayas’ Clouds Of Sils Maria, which played in competition in Cannes. World premieres...
- 7/16/2014
- by sarah.cooper@screendaily.com (Sarah Cooper)
- ScreenDaily
Festival also moves Dancing Arabs screening indoors.
Spike Jonze has cancelled his Jerusalem Film Festival masterclass on July 16 because of the current conflict.
Jonze did travel to Jerusalem as planned but decided not to go ahead with the event. He said in a statement: “Dear filmmakers and filmgoers, I apologise for not being there with you tonight. It felt like the wrong time for me to be talking about movies with everything going on. I hope you understand. I will come back again and screen movies and talk film with you when the time is right. My heart is with you and everyone who is suffering right now.”
The festival said it appreciated Jonze coming to Jerusalem and understood his decision.
Noa Regev, director general of the Festival, said “We respect Mr. Jonze’s decision, and we apologize to the many people who we’re looking forward to this event.”
The festival...
Spike Jonze has cancelled his Jerusalem Film Festival masterclass on July 16 because of the current conflict.
Jonze did travel to Jerusalem as planned but decided not to go ahead with the event. He said in a statement: “Dear filmmakers and filmgoers, I apologise for not being there with you tonight. It felt like the wrong time for me to be talking about movies with everything going on. I hope you understand. I will come back again and screen movies and talk film with you when the time is right. My heart is with you and everyone who is suffering right now.”
The festival said it appreciated Jonze coming to Jerusalem and understood his decision.
Noa Regev, director general of the Festival, said “We respect Mr. Jonze’s decision, and we apologize to the many people who we’re looking forward to this event.”
The festival...
- 7/15/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
The 31st Jerusalem Film Festival gets underway today with a new management team determined to present a world-class event despite the escalating troubles in the region.
Aside from postponing the opening-night open-air premiere of Dancing Arabs (see full story here), the team is hoping for business as usual as much as possible.
“No doubt about it, the festival takes place as planned,” said CEO Noa Regev yesterday. “We are continuing our lives in the best way possible with the situation around us.”
She added: “The escalation in the security situation over the past few days saddens us all, and we hope for days of calm. The Festival will proceed as planned, in accordance with the instructions of Homeland Command and the police. The staff of the Cinematheque hopes to see the Festival venues full with the thousands of film lovers who attend the Festival every year.”
More than 200 films from around 50 countries will screen at the enlarged...
Aside from postponing the opening-night open-air premiere of Dancing Arabs (see full story here), the team is hoping for business as usual as much as possible.
“No doubt about it, the festival takes place as planned,” said CEO Noa Regev yesterday. “We are continuing our lives in the best way possible with the situation around us.”
She added: “The escalation in the security situation over the past few days saddens us all, and we hope for days of calm. The Festival will proceed as planned, in accordance with the instructions of Homeland Command and the police. The staff of the Cinematheque hopes to see the Festival venues full with the thousands of film lovers who attend the Festival every year.”
More than 200 films from around 50 countries will screen at the enlarged...
- 7/10/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
The Jerusalem Film Festival (Jff) has postponed the opening night world premiere of Eran Riklis’s Dancing Arabs by one week due to escalating tension in the region.
The film had been scheduled to screen in the open-air Sultan’s Pool venue on Thursday (July 10) at 8pm but has now been put back to July 17 at the same time and venue.
Festival director Noa Regev said: “Due to instructions from the Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem Film Festival’s opening event at the Sultan’s Pool, including the screening of Dancing Arabs, has been postponed to Thursday, 17.7.2014 at 20:00.
“The festival will take place as planned and we hope to see all the film-loving audiences attending the screenings and festival events.”
The film had been set to open theatrically in Israel on Thursday, however both the distributor United King and film-maker Riklis decided last week to push back the release to July 24 due to the current unrest.
“We...
The film had been scheduled to screen in the open-air Sultan’s Pool venue on Thursday (July 10) at 8pm but has now been put back to July 17 at the same time and venue.
Festival director Noa Regev said: “Due to instructions from the Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem Film Festival’s opening event at the Sultan’s Pool, including the screening of Dancing Arabs, has been postponed to Thursday, 17.7.2014 at 20:00.
“The festival will take place as planned and we hope to see all the film-loving audiences attending the screenings and festival events.”
The film had been set to open theatrically in Israel on Thursday, however both the distributor United King and film-maker Riklis decided last week to push back the release to July 24 due to the current unrest.
“We...
- 7/9/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
The Jerusalem Film Festival has postponed the opening night world premiere of Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs by one week due to escalating tension in the region.
The film had been scheduled to screen in the open-air Sultan’s Pool venue on Thursday (July 10) at 8pm but has now been put back to July 17 at the same time and venue.
Festival director Noa Regav said: “Due to instructions from the Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem Film Festival’s opening event at the Sultan’s Pool, including the screening of Dancing Arabs, has been postponed to Thursday, 17.7.2014 at 20:00.
“The festival will take place as planned and we hope to see all the film-loving audiences attending the screenings and festival events.”
The film had been set to open theatrically in Israel on Thursday, however both the distributor United King and film-maker Riklis decided last week to push back the release to July 24 due to the current unrest.
“We decided...
The film had been scheduled to screen in the open-air Sultan’s Pool venue on Thursday (July 10) at 8pm but has now been put back to July 17 at the same time and venue.
Festival director Noa Regav said: “Due to instructions from the Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem Film Festival’s opening event at the Sultan’s Pool, including the screening of Dancing Arabs, has been postponed to Thursday, 17.7.2014 at 20:00.
“The festival will take place as planned and we hope to see all the film-loving audiences attending the screenings and festival events.”
The film had been set to open theatrically in Israel on Thursday, however both the distributor United King and film-maker Riklis decided last week to push back the release to July 24 due to the current unrest.
“We decided...
- 7/9/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Jerusalem Film Festival organizers announced Wednesday that they have decided to postpone the opening night film screening, scheduled for Thursday, by a week amid Israeli-Palestinian hostilities. In a statement, organizers said that "due to the security situation the opening film has been postponed" to July 17. The gala event is still scheduled to be the world premiere of Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs and is still planned to happen at an outdoor venue, which has, however, been deemed too risky amid the tensions. The rest of the festival is scheduled to take place as planned. Tensions between Israelis and
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- 7/9/2014
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
31st edition of festival will close with The Wind Rises.
The 31st edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival will kick off on July 10 with the world premiere of Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs.
Sayed Kashua wrote the script based on his bestselling novels Dancing Arabs and Second Person Singular.
The film is about Eyad, a Palestinian-Israeli boy from the town of Tira whose parents send to a prestigious Jewish boarding school in Jerusalem. He has to make personal sacrifices to be accepted in the new environment.
The gala screening will take place at the Sultan’s Pool in the presence of the director and cast members including Tawfeek Barhom, Yael Abecassis, Michael Moshonov, Ali Suliman, Daniel Kitzis and Norman Issa.
Dancing Arabs is an Israeli-German-French co-production, produced by Chilik Michaeli, Avraham Pirchi, Tami Leon, Moshe Edery, and Leon Edery, Michael Eckelt, Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre and Bettina Brokemper.
The festival will close on July 17 with Hayao Miyazaki’s The...
The 31st edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival will kick off on July 10 with the world premiere of Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs.
Sayed Kashua wrote the script based on his bestselling novels Dancing Arabs and Second Person Singular.
The film is about Eyad, a Palestinian-Israeli boy from the town of Tira whose parents send to a prestigious Jewish boarding school in Jerusalem. He has to make personal sacrifices to be accepted in the new environment.
The gala screening will take place at the Sultan’s Pool in the presence of the director and cast members including Tawfeek Barhom, Yael Abecassis, Michael Moshonov, Ali Suliman, Daniel Kitzis and Norman Issa.
Dancing Arabs is an Israeli-German-French co-production, produced by Chilik Michaeli, Avraham Pirchi, Tami Leon, Moshe Edery, and Leon Edery, Michael Eckelt, Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre and Bettina Brokemper.
The festival will close on July 17 with Hayao Miyazaki’s The...
- 5/16/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
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