Pick of Israeli films
The latest films and documentaries from Israel, along with some classic movies, will be screened at this year’s AICE Israeli Film Festival, being held around Australia this month.
LEGENDARY Israeli composer and singer Matti Caspi reveals the secrets of his success in the new documentary film Matti Caspi – Confession, which has its Australian premiere as the opening night film at the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange (AICE) Israeli Film Festival this month.
Caspi was born in 1949 on Kibbutz Hanita in the Upper Galilee and showed great musical ability as child. He rose to stardom in an army ensemble in the 1970s and over the following decades the singer-songwriter wrote and recorded about 1000 songs.
However, in 1993 Caspi left Israel for the United States after a public fall from grace and remained there until 1997. He reveals a lifetime of struggle in this confession-like film which ends with a successful return to the Israeli stage.
AICE Israeli Film Festival director Richard Moore saw Matti Caspi – Confession while attending Docaviv, the 10-day Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival, in May and immediately knew it would be ideal for Australian audiences.
“I saw it at a packed first screening in Tel Aviv and the response by the audience was ecstatic,” he tells The AJN. “It was one of the standout films of Docaviv, told in a deadpan style as it covers Caspi’s loveless childhood, his rise to fame and his tragic fall.”
Moore is at the helm of his first Israeli film festival, but has a wealth of experience as director of the Melbourne International Film Festival (2006-10), the Brisbane Film Festival (2010-12) and also having worked on other festivals including the Sydney Film Festival.
The trip to Docaviv was the first time in 15 years that Moore has been in Israel, although he lived there for two years in the ’80s and has a son living there.
“There were a lot of premieres screening at Docaviv this year, and there was a lot of competition among buyers from Australia and around the world,” he says.
“The market here is hot for Israeli films because there are so many good films being made.”
The AICE Israeli Film Festival will be held in Melbourne from August 18-30 at Palace cinemas and also in Sydney, Canberra and Perth.
The program features about 40 feature films, documentaries, short films and TV shows and has been divided into six categories: “Blast From The Past” offers classic Israeli films including Topol’s first role in the 1963 movie Sallah Shabati; “Culture Corner” features films from the arts; the “First Course” program contains top Israeli short films; the “Queer Spot” program reflects the vibrant queer culture in Israel; the “Questions of Faith” program covers faith and interfaith; and “On The Edge” challenges audiences with real-life stories exposing the darker side of life.
“Grouping the films into categories helps filmgoers plan what they want to see,” says Moore.
One of the highlights of the festival is Israeli director Tali Shalom Ezer’s drama Princess, which won the award for best feature film at the 2014 Jerusalem Film Festival.
Princess delves into the world of love and sexuality and is set around 12-year-old Adar, who is neglected by her workaholic mother and finds herself drawn into the games of her over-attentive stepfather. When she meets Alan, a mysterious homeless boy, they embark on a dark journey together.
“Princess is a controversial film that every film festival has wanted to screen,” says Moore.
Director Doron Djerassi’s 2015 film Once Upon a Time There Was a King is set around Israeli author and playwright Nissim Aloni, and relives some of the magic he created on stage.
It features interviews with people who worked with Aloni over the years, including 94-year-old Australian-Israeli artist Yosl Bergner, who designed the sets for some of Aloni’s productions.
The Wandering Muse explores Jewish identity through the music of the Diaspora, including a blend of tango and klezmer in Argentina, Yiddish songs in Berlin and Hebrew prayers in East African harmonies.
Heymann Brothers Films has been producing documentary films in Israel for more than a decade. The company founder, Tomer Heymann, is among the country’s best-known documentary directors and in 2003, his younger brother, Barak, joined the company.
Barak Heymann will be in Australia next month to introduce two Heymann Brothers Films documentaries at the festival – Aliza, directed by Tomer, about temperamental Israeli actress Aliza Rozen; and Almost Friends, directed by Barak, about two primary school students, one Arab and the other Jewish, who become friends through an education program aimed at bridging gaps in Israeli society.
Director Duki Dror’s documentary Partner With the Enemy sees two women – one Israeli and one Palestinian – team up to run a new business together, despite numerous hurdles from family and society. Their company helps Palestinian businessmen in the West Bank, yet while they help their clients overcome the obstacles, the divisions between them threaten to tear their partnership apart.
A new feature of the festival is the screening of popular Israeli TV series including five episodes of Mekimi, based on Noa Yaron-Dayan’s best-selling book. The series stars popular Israeli actress Yael Poliakov as a young media star living in Tel Aviv in the early ’90s.
Also being screened at the festival are a selection of short films including Jerusalem ER, a 17-minute film directed by Hilla Medalia about two female doctors – one a Jewish migrant from Chile and the other a Palestinian-Israeli – who work together in Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital.
Moore is excited about the diversity of films in his first AICE Israeli Film Festival.
“There is a strong line-up of films this year and I hope that I can build on the Israeli contacts I have made this year for future festivals,” he says.
REPORT by Danny Gocs
The 2015 AICE Israeli Film Festival dates
Sydney: August 17-30, Palace Verona
Melbourne: August 18-30, Palace Como and Palace Brighton Bay
Canberra: August 19-30, Palace Electric
Perth: August 20-26, Cinema Paradiso
For more information about the 2015 AICE Israeli Film Festival including bookings, go to www.aiceisraelifilmfestival.com.
comments