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| Patrick Stewart stars in the Israeli Film Festival opener Hunting Elephants. |
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| A Place in Heaven |
Line-up for the 2014 Israeli Film Festival:
Hunting Elephants
Dir. Reshef Levi | Israel | 2013 | 107 min
Sunday, June 8, 2014, 7:00 pm
Synopsis: Jonathan
is a boy genius with severe social problems. After losing his father in a
traumatic event, his mother leaves him in a nursing home with his grandfather,
a bitter and hard old man who never kept in touch with his grandson until that
day. At the nursing home, Jonathan meets a host of extravagant, picturesque
figures, including his grandfather Elijah and his friend Nick, past
"Lehi" underground members who used to rob banks for their country
during the British occupation. Joining them is Jonathan's uncle, an Englishman
and a frustrated Shakespearean actor, trying to put his hands on his sister's
inheritance. Together, the four go on a journey to rob the bank that has
ignored their existence.
-Features Star Trek and X-Men’s Patrick Stewart!
-Nominated for 7
awards of the Israeli Film Academy including Best Picture.
Farewell, Herr Schwarz
Dir. Yael Reuveny | Israel/Germany | 2014 | 96 min.
Thursday, June 12, 2014, 7:00 pm
Synopsis: Michla
and Feiv'ke Schwarz, sister and brother, could have re-met in Lodz in 1945. But
they didn't. She migrated to a Jewish state in the Middle East and started a
family there, while he returned to East Germany, changed his name to Peter,
married a German woman and lived the rest of his life in the camp where he was
once a prisoner. But that is just the beginning. The outcome of their decision
affects the course of lives for generations to come, in the here and now: The
children who struggle to deal with their parents' silence and their own unasked
questions; their grandchildren who are haunted by family secrets and forced to
question their own identity. Farewell, Herr Schwarz is an epic
documentary by Yael Reuveny, the granddaughter of Michla Schwarz, a personal
journey between Israel and Germany.
A Place in Heaven
Dir. Yossi Madmony | Israel | 2013 | 117 min.
Thursday, June 19, 2014, 7:00 pm, Auditorium, 395 Wellington
St.
Synopsis: Although
it may seem strange, the Halacha (Jewish religious law) recognizes the trade or
transfer of a person’s place in heaven. What happens when this idea leaves the
ancient books and becomes part of real life? A young officer, in the early days
of the State of Israel, returns from a successful operation. He is very hungry.
The assistant army cook offers him a ridiculous deal. The cook will make the
officer’s favorite spicy omelet in exchange for the officer’s place in heaven.
Forty years later, the officer is now a retired general, lonely and bitter,
lying on his death bed. His son, who has become newly religious, decides to
search for the assistant cook who, forty years earlier, bought his father’s
place in heaven and to convince the cook to cancel the contract. If he succeeds
he will save his father from hell and perhaps find serenity for himself. This
is a Jewish tale using a little known Halachtic element and at the same time an
intriguing observation on the relationship between a father and his son.
-Nominated for 10 awards
of the Israeli Film Academy including Best Picture.
-Official Selection
2013 Toronto International Film Festival
The Wonders
Dir. Avi Nesher | Israel | 2013 | 116 min.
Sunday, June 22, 2014, 7:00 pm.
Synopsis:
Ariel (Ori Hizkiah), a bartender and graffiti artist who lives in
the slums of the Old City, is trying to win back his ex-girlfriend (Efrat Gosh)
who has recently become Orthodox. Late one night, Ariel’s pleasantly mundane
existence is turned upside down when he encounters the mysterious Rabbi Knafo
(Yehuda Levi), a modern-day prophet with special clairvoyant powers and a cult
of finagled followers, being held captive in an abandoned building. A pushy
private detective (Adir Miller) and his lovely redheaded client (Yuval Scharf)
soon rope a reluctant Ariel into a plan to use his neighboring apartment as a
stakeout. Thus opens a rabbit hole of conspiracies, red herrings, unlikely
alliances, quirky characters and cartoons that come to life.
-Nominated for 2 awards
of the Israeli Film Academy including Best Actress.
-Official Selection
2013 Toronto International Film Festival
All
screenings take place at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street.
Tickets
are $12 for general admission; $8 for CFI members, seniors, and students (cash
only).
Please
visit www.cfi-icf.ca for more information
on this year’s festival.
The
2014 Israeli Film Festival runs June 8 – 22.
(And check back for reviews!)
(And check back for reviews!)