Festival Program

Sydney — Event Cinemas, Bondi Junction
30 October — 17 November
Melbourne — Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick
6 — 24 November
Festival
Program —
1
s p o ns o rs , pa r t n ers
& f rien ds o f jiff —
ch ai (‫ * )ח י‬s p o nso rs —
The 2013
Jewish International
Film Festival
CLASSIC CONTEMPORARY CUSTOM
silv er s p o nso rs —
cin em a pa r t n ers —
Co n t en t s —
Welcome .
b ro nze s p o ns o rs —
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Melbourne Film Program, Tickets & Venue
Melbourne Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sydney Film Program, Tickets & Venue .
Sydney Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
m edi a pa r t n ers —
cu lt u r a l & p ro g r a m min g Pa r t n ers —
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Opening & Closing Night Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 — 15
Films (in alphabetical order) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 — 5 5
K eep u p wit h a l l t hin gs J IF F —
Subscribe to JIFF e-news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jiff.co m . au/sig n u p
Be our friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fac eb o o k .co m /J e wis hIF F
Tweet @j e wis hiff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . or follow #jiff13
f rien ds o f jiff —
Ahava, Baco Juices, Borscht, Vodka & Tears, Emma & Tom’s, Gefen, Genovese, Passionfoods,
PIRANHA Snack Foods, Rawsome Chocolate, Red and White, Sassafras Sweets, Westfield
2
3
F es ti va l T e a m —
Welcome
F es ti va l Di r ecto r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eddie Tamir
F es ti va l I d en tit y & D es i g n . . . . . . . . Studio Round
a n ot e f ro m t h e
F es ti va l M a n ag er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tamar Simons
W eb DEVELOPMEN T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Twenty4
f es ti va l dir ecto r —
S p o ns o rs h i p & G ro u p S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lindy Tamir
T r a i l er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clayton Jacobson
M a r k e ti n g M a n ag er . . . . . . . . . . . Lior Albeck-Ripka
T r a i l er M us ic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Mercedes Band
M a r k e ti n g Co o r di n ato r . . . . . . . . . Miriam Kauppi
M at er i a l s & C o n v ers i o n s . . . . . . . . . JORR Pty Ltd
M a r k e ti n g as s is ta n t . . . . . . . . . . . . Serena Ashmore
J I F F T EEN St u dy G u i d e W r it er . . . . . Ittay Flescher
Acc o u n t s M a n ag er . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary O’Mahoney
E v en t Ci n em as M a n ag er . . . . . . . . . . Fiona Pulford
also —
C l as s ic Ci n em as M a n ag er . . . . . Jeremy Goldman
A s p eci a l t h a n ks to t h e d ed icat ed
Co p y w r it ers . . . . . . . Emma Westwood, Steve Baker
t e a m s at E v en t Ci n em as a n d C l as s ic
P u b l icis t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annette Smith
Ci n em as , t h e h o m e o f J I F F.
jifft een —
JIFFTEEN is a series of films specifically curated
to give young people access to quality films with Jewish
themes that will expose them to a rich culture and
history. JIFFTEEN films have been selected in line
with the Victorian SOSE curriculum.
J ifft een 2013 s el ect ed tit l es —
Foreign Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Igor & the Cranes’ Journey . . .
No Place on Earth . . . . . . . . . . .
Numbered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Zigzag Kid . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
30
38
39
55
or to download the free
JIFFTEEN study guides please visit jiff.com.au/jiffteen
fo r m o r e in fo r m atio n
En q u iries & g ro u p b o o kin gs
4
In my second year as Festival Director, after
watching more than 300 films, I have selected
51 features, documentaries and shorts from
Israel, Poland, France, Germany, Macedonia,
Argentina, Netherlands, USA, Canada and
Australia to premiere at JIFF.
This year we have more screenings and
more out-there films than ever before. I have
been challenged and confronted by what
I’ve seen and I want to share the best of this
eclectic mix of Jewish cinema with you.
This year we have introduced categories
to help you navigate the program. If you are
looking for something easy and fun, there
is Good Schmaltz , if you are up for some
zombie gore, there’s Living Dead and
if you want to understand more about the
tension and chaos of contemporary Israel,
there is The Situation (Hamaztav) .
For music and comedy lovers, keep an eye
out for the films marked All the World’s
a Stage and those looking for something to
bring their kids to, check out our charming
Coming of Age films.
Jews are analytical. We investigate issues
from all angles, never tiring of discussion and
forever trying to find new understanding
and meaning. In the Triumph of the Spirit
category, there are films about historical
events including the Holocaust, Operation
Entebbe and the 1972 Munich Olympics
that you may not be inclined to see, because
you think you have seen it all before, but
I challenge that.
This year’s Brilliant Minds section
pushes us to ask questions about morality,
and how humans are capable of losing the
‘ability to think’ — Hannah Arendt, Yeshayahu
Leibowitz and Benjamin Murmelstein are all
subjects of intriguing films that ask us again
and again to consider what makes us human.
My thanks to my dedicated and passionate
team and programming partners in putting
together JIFF 2013 — on behalf of them all,
we hope you have a fantastic festival.
— Eddie Tamir,
Festival Director
[email protected]
5
Melbourne Film Program,
Wednesday 6
Sunday 10
Wednesday 13
Saturday 16 (continued)
Tuesday 19 (continued)
Saturday 23
7. 15 p m Opening Night Party
1 .0 0 PM The Last of the Unjust 28 ★
12 .0 0 PM Rock the Casbah 47
9. 3 0 PM Fill the Void 14
4 . 15 PM The Eleventh Day 25
& Film 14 ★
1 . 15 PM The Zigzag Kid 55
12 . 15 PM Ponevezh Time 42 +
6 . 3 0 PM The Lab 32 +
11 .0 0 PM Cannon Fodder 21
6 . 4 5 PM The Prime Ministers 44
4 . 3 0 PM The Third Half 49
9.0 0 PM White Panther 52
6 . 4 5 PM Hannah Arendt 28
9. 15 PM Aftermath 16
7.0 0 PM 1 . 3 0 PM Igor & the Cranes’ Journey 30
Thursday 7
2 . 3 0 PM Women/Pioneers 54 +
2 . 4 5 PM White Panther 52
Sunday 17
12 .0 0 PM The Garden of Eden 27
1 . 4 5 PM Foreign Letters 26
6 . 3 0 PM Oma & Bella 40
1 .0 0 PM Women/Pioneers 54 +
12 . 15 p m No Place on Earth 38
3 . 3 0 PM No Place on Earth 38
6 . 4 5 PM The Eleventh Day 25
1 . 15 PM Sukkah City 48
Wednesday 20
2 . 3 0 p m Bethlehem 19
4 .0 0 PM Mamele 36 + ★
9.0 0 PM Once I Entered a Garden 41
1 . 3 0 p M The Prime Ministers 44
12 .0 0 PM Bethlehem 19
6 .0 0 PM Fill the Void 14
9. 15 PM Up the Wrong Tree 50
2 . 4 5 p m The Prime Ministers 44
6 . 3 0 PM Broadway Musicals 20
6 . 15 PM Aftermath 16 ★
6 . 4 5 p m The Third Half 49
8 . 3 0 PM Putzel 46
9.0 0 p m Closed Season 22
9. 15 PM White Panther 52
9. 15 p m Rock the Casbah 47
12 . 15 PM Foreign Letters 26
Sunday 24
2 . 3 0 PM Jews & Money 31
1 .0 0 PM The Prime Ministers 44
Thursday 14
3 . 3 0 PM Closed Season 22
2 . 4 5 PM Rock the Casbah 47
12 .0 0 PM Before the Revolution 18 +
1 . 15 PM Live or Die In Entebbe 35 +
3 . 4 5 PM The Third Half 49
6 . 3 0 PM The Third Half 49
1 . 3 0 p M Wild West Hebron 53
12 . 15 PM Leibowitz, Faith 6 .0 0 PM Wakolda 51
6 . 4 5 PM Max Raabe in Israel 37
1 . 4 5 PM The Garden of Eden 27
6 . 15 PM Broadway Musicals 20
9.0 0 PM Fill the Void 14
3 . 3 0 PM Hunting Elephants 29
9. 15 PM The Cut Off Man 24
3 . 4 5 PM The Zigzag Kid 55
Country Man 34
12 .0 0 PM The Cut Off Man 24
2 . 3 0 p m Broadway Musicals 20
8 . 3 0 PM Rock the Casbah 47
12 .0 0 PM Hannah Arendt 28
12 . 15 PM Oma & Bella 40
6 . 3 0 PM Pursued 45 ★
8 . 4 5 PM Bethlehem 19
12 . 15 PM Fill the Void 14
2 . 3 0 PM Max Raabe in Israel 37
2 . 3 0 PM Before the Revolution 18 +
6 . 4 5 PM Live or Die in Entebbe 35 +
2 . 4 5 PM The Garden of Eden 27
9.0 0 PM Wild West Hebron 53
Monday 18
6 . 3 0 PM Numbered 39 + ★
9. 15 PM Awake Zion 17 +
12 .0 0 PM Once I Entered a Garden 41
6 .0 0 PM Oma & Bella 40 ★
Saturday 9
6 . 4 5 PM Before the Revolution 18 +
9. 3 0 PM Bethlehem 19
1 . 4 5 PM Igor & the Cranes’
Friday 8
2 . 4 5 PM Jews & Money 31
6.30 pm C
losing Night Drinks
& Film 15 ★
Thursday 21
12 . 15 PM Ponevezh Time 42 +
12 .0 0 PM Igor & the Cranes’
Journey 30
Monday 25 —
12 . 15 PM The Garden of Eden 27
Wednesday 27
9.0 0 PM Cupcakes 23
Friday 15
2 . 3 0 PM Fill the Void 14
Encore Sessions: Please check
9. 15 PM Awake Zion 17 +
2 . 3 0 PM Mamele 36 +
12 .0 0 PM The Last of the Unjust 28
2 . 4 5 PM Present Continuous 43
2 . 4 5 PM The Cut Off Man 24
jiff.com.au for session times
12 . 15 PM Putzel 46
6 . 3 0 PM The Last of the Unjust 28
6 . 3 0 PM Ponevezh Time 42 +
2 . 3 0 PM The Prime Ministers 44
6 . 4 5 PM The Garden of Eden 27
6 . 4 5 PM Numbered 39 +
9.0 0 PM Putzel 46
9.0 0 PM Sukkah City E 48
4 . 15 PM The Prime Ministers 44
4 . 3 0 PM The Lab 32 +
Tuesday 12
6 . 4 5 PM Hunting Elephants 29
12 .0 0 PM Bethlehem 19
7.0 0 PM Wakolda 51
12 . 15 PM Present Continuous 43
Saturday 16
9. 15 PM Bethlehem 19
2 . 3 0 PM The Prime Ministers 44
4 . 15 PM Numbered 39 +
9. 3 0 PM Hannah Arendt 28
2 . 4 5 PM Fill the Void 14
4 . 3 0 PM Before the Revolution 18 +
11 .0 0 PM Cannon Fodder 21
6 . 3 0 PM Hannah Arendt 28 ★
6 . 4 5 PM No Place on Earth 38
12 . 15 PM Numbered 39 +
12 .0 0 PM Up the Wrong Tree 50
6 . 4 5 PM Leibowitz, Faith
7.0 0 PM Aftermath 16
2 . 3 0 PM Up the Wrong Tree 50
12 . 15 PM Pursued 45
9. 15 PM Hunting Elephants 29
2 . 4 5 PM Live or Die in Entebbe 35 +
2 . 3 0 PM Hannah Arendt 28
Country Man 34
9. 3 0 PM Jews & Money 31
Available online at jiff.com.au,
over the phone and at the Classic Box Office
T ick e t s
Sin g l e T ick e t s
Adults $20 / Concession $17 / Classic members $16
O p enin g Nig h t
C losin g Nig h t
Broadway Musicals 20
9. 15 PM Wakolda 51
Journey 30
Monday 11
Adults $35 / Concession $32
Adults $29 / Concession $25
El igib l e co n c es sio ns Students, health care card
holders, pensioners and Classic Members. Proof of concession
must be presented.
6
Tickets & Venue
f es ti va l fil m pas s es
Adult $95 / Classic members $75
10 Adult $180 / Classic members $140
20 Adult $340 / Classic members $260
5
Festival passes are for separate, preselected
sessions for one person. All films selected must
be different from one another. Festival passes
cannot be used for higher-priced events. Please
see the events pages (8-9) for specific ticketing
details. Passes are available online or at the box
office. Only Classic members receive concession
price on passes.
9. 15 PM Present Continuous 43
Tuesday 19
12 .0 0 PM Before the Revolution 18 +
Friday 22
+ Screening with a short film. See
film pages for more information.
2 . 4 5 PM Oma & Bella 40
★Accompanied by an event. See
pg. 8-9 for more information.
G ro u p B o o kin gs Minimum 20 people, $13/ticket En q u iries [email protected]
Bookings online or [email protected]
V en u e Classic Cinemas
T er ms & co n ditio ns No person under the age of
9 Gordon Street, Elsternwick
15 years will be admitted to film-festival screenings unless
Tel. — (03) 9534 7900
in the company of a parent or adult guardian.
www.classiccinemas.com.au
r ef u n ds/ e xc h a n g es Please check your booking
carefully at the time of purchase as all tickets are non-refundable
but can be exchanged for the equal dollar amount or more 24
hours prior to the session start time for a $2 fee at the box office
only. Lost or stolen tickets cannot be replaced.
A kosher pop-up falafel
& sabich shop by Laffa Bar will be onsite
throughout the festival.
j e wis h fo o d
7
Melbourne
WEDnesday 6 November
OPENING NIGHT PARTY & FILM
Celebrate the Opening Night of JIFF 2013
with Melbourne brother/sister duo Chasky
(HUSKY) & Evie Gawenda, who will perform
a series of Yiddish, Hebrew and English
songs. This will be followed by the awardwinning film, Fill the Void (pg.14).
7.15 PM Chasky & Evie Gawenda
8.30 PM Fill the Void
Tickets
Adults $35 / Concession $32
Tickets are not available for screening only.
Friday 8 November
JEWISH FOOD & MEMORy
As part of the Art and Food section of
The Age Good Food Month program, taste
and experience a traditional Jewish Friday
night dinner (Shabbos*) at Classic Cinemas
after a screening of Oma & Bella (pg. 40).
6.00 pm Oma & Bella 7.30 pm Dinner
grandparents’ experiences in occupied
Prague and Theresienstadt, where Bram’s
grandfather, Dr Jan Randa, worked closely
with Benjamin Murmelstein.
1.00 pm The Last of the Unjust
introduction Bram Presser
sunday 10 November
a history of yiddish cinema:
The launch of the Yiddish theatre
Thursday 21 November
In conjunction with JIFF, the Jewish Museum
of Australia and Moishe House Melbourne will
host a ‘Think & Drink’ session after Sukkah
City (pg. 48) in the Classic Cinemas foyer for a
discussion about connecting and reconnecting
to Judaism in creative and imaginative ways.
9.00 pm Sukkah City
Speakers Rebecca Forgasz, Brett Nathan
partners Jewish Museum Australia /
Moishe House Melbourne
The Age Good Food Month /
Borscht, Vodka & Tears
sunday 10 November
8
Lecturers in Holocaust and Genocide Studies
at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilization
(ACJC) will moderate a discussion on how the
film Numbered (pg. 39) explores the physical
and emotional tattoos inscribed upon the
survivors of the concentration camps. 6.30 pm Numbered
speakers Daniella Doron, Noah Shenker
partners ACJC
will moderate a panel exploring the legal and
psychological issues in the film.
6.30 pm Pursued
Speakers Manny Waks, Psychiatrist John
Serry, Robert Richter QC
partners Tzedek
rebooting culture
partners
The film The Last of the Unjust (pg. 33) will
be introduced by Bram Presser, a writer,
performer, occasional lawyer and reformed
punk rocker. In 2011 he won The Age
Short Story Award for Crumbs about his
tattooed
Arnold Zable will introduce the world
premiere of Melbourne-based filmmaker,
Oran Franco’s short film Like Children
and the newly restored 1938 Yiddish classic
Mamele (pg. 36). He will officially open
Classic Cinemas’ David Herman Theatre
and Yiddish exhibition. Curator Anna
Epstein will give a talk at 3.30 pm.
4.00 pm Mamele and Like Children
speakers Arnold Zable, Anna Epstein
Tickets are not available for screening only.
understanding the holocaust
Monday 11 November
& exhibition
tickets $55
sunday 10 November
Events
tuesday 12 November
the banality of evil
Co-presented by the Goethe Institut Australia
with the support of the Jewish Museum of
Australia (JMA), this academic panel will
discuss Hannah Arendt’s most famous piece
of writing: ‘The Banality of Evil’.
6.30 pm Hannah Arendt (pg. 28)
Speakers Robert Manne, Tony Barta
Moderated by Peter Krausz
partners Goethe Institut / Jewish
Museum of Australia
History & memory
Sunday 24 NOVember
In association with the Australian Centre
for Jewish Civilization (ACJC), join academic
and writer Mark Baker (The Fiftieth Gate)
for an in-depth discussion of the themes
raised by Aftermath (pg. 16) — antisemitism,
responsibility, history and memory after
the Holocaust. 6.15 pm Aftermath Speakers Mark Baker
partners ACJC
CLOSING NIGHT DRINKS & FILM
thursday 14 November
surviving abuse
Tzedek, an Australian-based advocacy group
for Jewish victims/survivors of child sexual
abuse co-presents this session of Pursued
(pg. 45). Manny Waks, founder of Tzedek,
Please join us for a drink and some music
before the hilarious film When Comedy Went
to School (pg. 15) to officially close the festival.
6.30 PM Drinks and music
7.30 PM When Comedy Went to School
Tickets Adult $29 / Concession $25
Tickets are not available for screening only.
Please note details were correct at the time of printing
and may change. Visit jiff.com.au for updated details.
9
Sydney Film Program,
Tickets & Venue
Wednesday 30
Monday 4
Sunday 10
Saturday 16
7. 15 p m Opening Night Party
6 . 3 0 PM Before the Revolution 18 +
1 .0 0 PM Leibowitz, Faith 4 . 15 PM The Eleventh Day 25
& Film 14 ★
Country Man 34
9.0 0 PM Putzel 46
1 . 15 PM Numbered 39 +
4 . 3 0 PM Bethlehem 19
6 . 4 5 PM The Third Half 49
Thursday 31
Tuesday 5
3 . 3 0 PM Women/Pioneers 54 +
6 . 3 0 p m Broadway Musicals 20
6 . 3 0 PM Jews & Money 31
6 .0 0 PM The Third Half 49
9. 15 PM Fill the Void 14
9.0 0 p m Rock the Casbah 47
7.0 0 PM No Place on Earth 38
6 . 15 PM Closed Season 22
9. 3 0 PM Closed Season 22
9.0 0 PM Awake Zion 17 +
8 . 3 0 PM The Prime Ministers 44
8 . 4 5 PM Up the Wrong Tree 50
Saturday 2
7.0 0 PM Aftermath 16
Sunday 17
4 . 15 PM The Prime Ministers 44
Wednesday 6
1 .0 0 PM Igor & the Cranes’
4 . 3 0 PM The Cut Off Man 24
6 . 3 0 PM Fill the Void 14 ★
Monday 11
Journey 30
6 . 4 5 PM Wakolda 51
9.0 0 PM The Garden of Eden 27
6 . 3 0 PM Ponevezh Time 42 +
1 . 15 PM Mamele 36 +
9.0 0 PM Rock the Casbah 47
3 . 3 0 PM Max Raabe in Israel 37
7.0 0 PM Hunting Elephants 29
9. 15 PM Bethlehem 19
Thursday 7
9. 3 0 PM Aftermath 16
6 . 3 0 PM Pursued 45
Tuesday 12
3 . 4 5 PM Foreign Letters 26
9.0 0 PM Sukkah City 48
6 . 3 0 PM The Last of the Unjust 33
6 . 3 0 p m Closing Night Drinks
& Film 15 ★
7.0 0 PM Once I Entered a Garden 41
Sunday 3
1 .0 0 PM The Last of the Unjust 33
Saturday 9
1 . 15 PM The Zig Zag Kid 55
4 . 15 PM Broadway Musicals 20
Wednesday 13
Monday 18
Encore Sessions: Please check
3 . 4 5 PM Oma & Bella 40 ★
4 . 3 0 PM Present Continuous 43
6 . 3 0 PM Live or Die in Entebbe 35 +
jiff.com.au for session times
6 .0 0 PM Hannah Arendt 28 ★
6 . 4 5 PM Hannah Arendt 28
9.0 0 PM Cupcakes 23
6 . 15 PM No Place on Earth 38
7.0 0 PM Bethlehem 19
8 . 3 0 PM White Panther 52
9. 15 PM Hunting Elephants 29
Thursday 14
9.0 0 PM Numbered 39 +
9. 3 0 PM Wakolda 51
6 . 3 0 PM The Lab 32 +
9.0 0 PM Wild West Hebron 53
+ Screening with a short film. See
film pages for more information.
★Accompanied by an event. See
pg. 12 for more information.
Available online at jiff.com.au,
Event Cinemas Bondi Junction box office or
eventcinemas.com.au.
T ick e t s
Sin g l e T ick e t s
O p enin g Nig h t
C losin g Nig h t
Adults $20 / Concession $17
Adults $35 / Concession $32
Adults $29 / Concession $25
El igib l e co n c es sio ns Students, health care card
holders and pensioners. Proof of concession must be presented.
10
5 – fil m pas s
Adult $95 / Concession $80
Festival passes are for separate, preselected sessions
for one person. All films selected must be different
from one another. Festival passes cannot be used
for higher-priced events. Please see the events page
(12) for specific ticketing details. Only available at
the box office.
G ro u p B o o kin gs
Minimum 20 people, $13/ticket
For enquiries, please email
[email protected]
or [email protected]
T er ms & co n ditio ns
No person under the age of 15 years will be admitted to
film-festival screenings unless in the company of a parent
or adult guardian.
r ef u n ds/ e xc h a n g es
Please check your booking carefully at the time of purchase
as all tickets are non-refundable but can be exchanged for
the equal dollar amount or more 24 hours prior to the session
start time for a $2 fee at the box office only. Lost or stolen
tickets cannot be replaced.
En q u iries
V en u e
Event Cinemas, Bondi Junction
Level 7 & 8, Westfield Shopping Centre
500 Oxford St, Bondi Junction
Tel. — (02) 9300 1500
www.eventcinemas.com.au
T h r ee h o u rs f r ee pa r kin g
wit h va l idatio n
[email protected]
11
Yo u w i l l fin d t h es e wo r ds t h ro u g h o u t t h e p ro g r a m , acco m pa n i ed by a n
Sydney Events
WEDnesday 30 OCTober
OPENING NIGHT PARTY & FILM
Celebrate the opening of JIFF 2013 with a
drink and some live music in Event Cinemas’
Set Bar before the Australian premiere of
the award-winning Fill the Void (pg. 14).
Further details online.
7.15 PM Party and music
8.30 PM Fill the Void
Tickets Adults $35 / Concession $32
Tickets are not available for screening only.
sunday 3 november
women & food
Some of the women who brought you the
popular Jewish cookbook Monday Morning
Cooking Club will introduce Oma & Bella
(pg. 40) and talk about food, friendship and
preserving recipes from past generations.
3.45 pm Screening of Oma & Bella,
followed by afternoon tea and discussion
speakers Lisa Goldberg, Merelyn
Chalmers, Natanya Eskin
partners Monday Morning Cooking Club
Dr Robert Buch, Prof. Clive Kessler,
Prof. Danielle Celermajer, Dr Avril Alba
partners Goethe Institut / Sydney
Jewish Museum
wednesday 6 november
fill the void
Encounters@Shalom joins JIFF for a special
discussion at Set Bar, downstairs from the
cinema. Simon Holloway (academic, educator
and former Yeshiva student) will delve into
the themes and issues raised by the film and
the ultra-orthodox* world it depicts. Michael
Misrachi, Education Director of the Shalom
Institute, will facilitate the discussion.
6.30 pm Fill the Void (pg. 14), talk following
speakers Michael Misrachi and
Simon Holloway
partners Shalom Institute
the banality of evil
Co-presented by the Goethe Institut
Australia with the support of the Sydney
Jewish Museum, this academic panel will
discuss Hannah Arendt’s famous thesis
‘The Banality of Evil’.
6.00 pm Hannah Arendt (pg. 28)
speakers Emeritus Prof. Konrad Kwiet,
12
A b i G e z u n t A Yiddish phrase
I D F Israeli Defense Force. The
Sc h m a lt z Informal. Exaggerated
meaning, ‘As long as you’ve got
ground, air and naval forces of Israel.
sentimentalism, as in music or
your health [you can be happy].’
Israeli citizens are conscripted at 18.
soap operas. Literally fat or grease,
B o o b a Yiddish for grandmother.
I n tifa da A revolt that began in
especially of a chicken.
December 1987 by Palestinian
S h a b b at/S h a b b os Hebrew for
B o rs c h t B elt , or Jewish
Arabs to protest Israel’s policy in
the Sabbath. The Jewish day of rest
Alps, is a colloquial term for the
the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
that is between sun set on Friday
mostly defunct summer resorts
The Second Intifada is said by some
night until sun set on Saturday night
of the Catskill Mountains in parts
to have begun in 2000.
each week.
counties in upstate New York that
K i b b u t z A collective agricultural
S h t e t l A town or village with
were a popular vacation spot
settlement in modern Israel, owned
Jewish inhabitants, commonly found
for New York City Jews from the
and administered communally by
in Eastern Europe before World
1920s up to the 1970s.
its members.
War Two.
C h a i A Jewish symbol and the
Lox The word lox is derived from
S h oa h Hebrew for the Holocaust.
Hebrew word literally meaning
the Yiddish word for salmon.
Literally translated, it means
of Sullivan, Orange and Ulster
‘destruction’.
‘life’. There are various mystical
associations based on numerology,
M a m el e Yiddish for mamma or
where the letters add up to 18.
mummy. A diminutive for a female
S u kk a h /S u kkot A temporary
For this reason, 18 is considered a
parental figure.
dwelling built during the Jewish
holiday of Sukkot. The sukkah is
lucky number and Jews often give
O r t h o d ox / U lt r a O r t h o d ox
also said to represent the temporary
The most theologically conservative
shelters in which the Jewish people
H a m at z av Literally ‘the
form of Judaism. It includes and is
lived while wandering in the
situation’. Used in Hebrew to refer
also sometimes known as Haredi.
desert for 40 years. Sukkot is also
gifts of money in multiples of 18.
traditionally a harvest/spring-time
Pis h er / pis c h er Yiddish.
festival and Jewish people are
Refers to the penis of a young boy
encouraged to eat inside the sukkah
H a r edi A member of any of the
and can be used as an insult or as
and invite guests. According to
various Orthodox Jewish sects that
a term of endearment, depending
Jewish law (halacha) they must be
adhere to the traditional form
on context. The youngest (pre-
built to very intricate specifications
of Jewish law and reject modern
pubescent) son in a family might
as described in the Torah.
secular culture.
be referred to as the ‘pisher,’ as
the Palestinians.
closing night drinks & FILM
sunday 3 november
Glossary
to the conflict between Israel and
sunday 17 november
Please join us for a drink and some music
before the closing night film When Comedy
Went to School (pg. 15). More details online.
6.30PM Drinks and music
7.30PM When Comedy Went to School
Tickets Adults $29 / Concession $25
Tickets are not available for screening only.
*
may a boy who tries to seem older
H as s i dic Of or relating to the
T z ed ek Hebrew word for ‘justice’.
than his years.
Y es h i va A Jewish religious
Jewish Hasidim or its members
or their beliefs and practices. A
P u t z / P u t z El Yiddish for a
educational institution that focuses
branch of Orthodox Judaism that
worthless or stupid person. Putzel
on the learning of religious texts
promotes spirituality through
literally means ‘a little putz’.
and discussion predominantly
Jewish mysticism. It was founded
attended by men.
in 18th-century Eastern Europe
Please note details were correct at the time of printing
and may change. Visit jiff.com.au for updated details.
by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov.
R ef er en c es — Dictionary.com / Jewish-languages.org / Thefreedictionary.com / Judaismabout.com
13
israel — 2012, 90 min
director —
usa — 2013, 76 min
Rama Burshtein / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
director —
Ron Frank & Mevlut Akkaya / language — English
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
o p en in g NIGH T FILM —
Fill the Void
c losin g NIGH T FILM —
When Comedy Went to School
(Lemale Et Ha’ Halal)
“I don’t know when I’ve ever seen a film as eerily perfect
in tone and taste as Fill the Void.” — The Weekly Standard
Sweeping up at the 2012 Ophir Awards (Israel’s Oscars),
this ground-breaking feature is the first film to be made by
an ultra-orthodox* Jewish woman for a general audience.
Following triumphant screenings at last year’s New York and
Telluride Film Festivals, Rama Burshtein’s debut affords
a glimpse into a somewhat exotic, secret and sealed world.
At 18 Shira (Haras Yaron, who won Best Actress at
the Venice Film Festival), the youngest daughter of an ultraorthodox family, is faced with a choice not unlike those of a
Jane Austen heroine. When her elder sister, Esther (Renana
Raz) dies, Shira’s mother, Rivka (Irit Sheleg), suggests a
match for her daughter in a desperate attempt to keep her
newborn grandchild close to her.
Fill the Void boldly emphasises both the loneliness
of the heroine’s predicament and its implications for those
closest to her.
14
D r a m a a n d D esir e
“Before there was Prozac, there was Jewish comedy...
but you don'thave to be Jewish to love it.” — The Huffington Post
Opening night —
7.15 pm film 8.30 pm
Adult $35 / Concession $32
Sydney Wed 30 Oct
Melbourne Wed 6 Nov
party
sydney —
Wed 6 Nov ★ Sat 16 Nov
6.30 pm
9.15 pm
Melbourne —
Fri 8 Nov
Sun 10 Nov
Tue 12 Nov
Sat 16 Nov
Mon 18 Nov
Wed 20 Nov
12.15 pm
6.00 pm
2.45 pm
9.30 pm
2.30 pm
9.00 pm
When Comedy Went to School looks back on an era when
the legends of laughter were mere pishers*, and how the
famous Catskill Mountains in upstate New York played a
role in creating a golden generation of comics who made
our sides split.
Narrated by Borscht Belt* veteran Robert Klein, this
documentary features revealing interviews and contributions
from comedy iconoclasts such as Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar,
Jerry Stiller (pictured above), Jackie Mason, Larry King,
Mort Sahl, Marc Maron and Wendy Liebman.
The film also offers up rare archival footage of Rodney
Dangerfield, Lenny Bruce, Henny Youngman, Don Rickles,
Mel Brooks, Buddy Hackett, a young Jerry Seinfeld and
Danny Kaye — all cutting their teeth on one of the toughest
circuits in showbiz history.
A l l t h e Wo r l d ’ s a Stag e
Closing night —
7.30 pm
Adult $29 / Concession $25
Sydney Sun 17 Oct
Melbourne Sun 24 Nov
Drinks & film
15
Poland, Netherlands, Russia, Slovakia — 2012, 107 min
director —
Israel, Jamaica, USA — 2013, 60 min
Wladyslaw Pasikowski / language — Polish (English subtitles)
director —
Monica Haim / language — English
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
Aftermath
Awake Zion
(Poklosie)
“Pokłosie may be the most controversial Polish film ever made, for it touches
a raw nerve among Poles: that of past anti-Semitism in Poland and its persistence today.”
— The Economist, 2013
Aftermath is based on the historical facts of a 1941 pogrom in
a village in north-eastern Poland during which several hundred
Jews were burned in a barn by their Polish neighbours.
Directed by Polish filmmaker Wladyslaw Pasikowski,
co-writer of the Oscar-nominated Katyn, Afermath is a
dramatic feature film about two brothers, Franek (Ireneusz
Czop) and Jozek (Maciej Stuhr), who attempt to break the
silence surrounding the massacre by travelling to the village
where it took place and confronting its residents.
A “mind-blowing” (The Village Voice) documentary that
maps the intersection between reggae and Judaism.
Featuring well-known American reggae and hip hop artist
Matisyahu, Brooklyn dub legend Dr Israel, and NJ-based
ska musician King Django, Awake Zion is a surprising and
controversial music documentary that is a celebration of
roots and culture.
Successfully funded through Kickstarter, the world’s
largest crowd-funding platform, first-time Columbian
director Monica Haim travelled from Crown Heights and
Brooklyn — where Caribbean and Jewish cultures share a
history of adversity — to Jamaica, the birthplace of reggae
— and ultimately to Israel, where a sizzling reggae scene
thrives today.
sydney —
Sat 2 Nov
Sat 16 Nov
9.30 pm
7.00 pm
Melbourne —
Sun 10 Nov ★ Sat 16 Nov
Tue 19 Nov
6.15 pm
7.00 pm
9.15 pm
+
sydney —
Tue 5 Nov
9.00 pm
Melbourne —
Mon 11 Nov
Thu 14 Nov
9.15 pm
9.15 pm
s c r een i n g w it h Auchwitz On My Mind
Di r ecto r Assaf Machnes / Is r a el — 16 m i n
An Israeli teenager tries to win the affection of a girl
in his class while on a school trip to Auschwitz.
16
h au n t ed his to ries
A l l t h e Wo r l d ’ s a Stag e
17
israel — 2011, 60 min
israel — 2013, 99 min
Dan Shadur / language — Hebrew, Persian, French (English subtitles)
director —
Yuval Adler / language — Hebrew, Arabic (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
director —
Before the Revolution
(Lifnei Ha’maafcha)
The fascinating episode in Iran’s history — illustrated recently by
the Academy Award-winning film ARGO — is presented in Before the Revolution
through a true and personal account of that same period.
This documentary thriller describes the last days of the
luxury and privilege enjoyed by the Israeli community in
Tehran on the eve of the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
The director, Dan Shadur, uses rare archival footage, family
movies and interviews with former diplomats, Mossad
agents and businessmen, to reveal the Persian paradise as
a breeding ground for corrupt business deals in the thriving
oil and weapons trades.
This deeply personal film challenges the ‘selective
amnesia’ of this clandestine chapter in Israeli/Iranian
relations and tells a story of unprecedented social and
religious upheaval.
+
s c r een i n g w it h Ishihara
sydney —
Mon 4 Nov
6.30 pm
Melbourne —
Fri 8 Nov Mon 11 Nov
Thu 14 Nov
Sat 16 Nov
Tue 19 Nov
2.30 pm
6.45 pm
12.00 pm
4.30 pm
12.00 pm
Bethlehem
(Beit-Lehem)
“... Real insight into how the intelligence world works
in the Middle East. The razor-sharp cutting and canny handling
of tension are reminiscent of Kathryn Bigelow.” — Indie Wire
Winner of the FEDEORA award for Best Film (Venice Days),
political thriller Bethlehem was nominated for 12 Ophir
Awards (Israel’s Oscars) in 2013 and is causing a stir on the
international film-festival circuit.
Exploring the complex friendship between Israeli secret
service officer Razi (Tsahi Halevi), and his teenage Palestinian
informant, Sanfur (Sahdi Marei), who is also the brother of
a senior Palestinian militant, Bethlehem follows Sanfur as he
becomes increasingly conflicted, learning of the Israeli plan
to assassinate his radical brother.
This debut feature film from Yuval Adler was co-written
with veteran West Bank-based journalist Ali Waked, whose
experience covering the region provides the film with a gritty
realism that intensifies this cinematic experience.
sydney —
Sat 2 Nov Sat 9 Nov Sat 16 Nov 9.15 pm
7.00 pm
4.30 pm
Melbourne —
Thu 7 Nov Sat 9 Nov Tue 12 Nov Sun 17 Nov Wed 20 Nov Sat 23 Nov 2.30 pm
9.15 pm
12.00 pm
8.45 pm
12.00 pm
9.30 pm
Di r ecto r Yoav Brill / Is r a el — 6 m i n
An illustrated biography employing the unique language
of Ishihara tests used for detecting colour blindness.
18
P ow er to t h e P eo p l e
T h e Sit uatio n (H a m at z av )
19
israel — 2012, 94 min
usa — 2013, 90 min
Michael Kantor / language — English
director —
Eitan Gafny / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
director —
Broadway Musicals:
A Jewish Legacy
Cannon Fodder
(Basar Totahim)
“I am trying to think if there was anyone on Broadway
who wasn’t Jewish except Cole Porter.”
Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy relives Broadway’s
greatest moments in all of its heart-warming and wonderfully
kitsch glory, celebrating the creative legacy of a community
that dreamed of a better life.
Producer/director Michael Kantor (Make ‘Em Laugh:
The Funny Business of America) high-kicks through a roll-call
of some of the world’s most adored and recognisable tunes
that today make up ‘The American Songbook’.
The film features stage luminaries such as Rogers and
Hammerstein, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerry Hermit,
Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein and Mel Brooks
alongside dazzling archival performances from the likes of
David Hyde-Pierce, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane,
Fanny Brice and Barbara Streisand.
20
A l l t h e wo r l d ’ s a s tag e
There is a new conflict in the Middle East.
sydney —
Thu 31 Oct
Sat 9 Nov
6.30 pm
4.15 pm
Melbourne —
Thu 7 Nov Thu 14 Nov
Sun 17 Nov
Sat 23 Nov
6.30 pm
2.30 pm
6.15 pm
7.00 pm
—
In honour of Les Erdi OAM for his
contribution to the JFFA and Jewish
Film in Australia.
Israel’s first zombie film is helmed by director and champion
of Israeli indie cinema Eitan Gafny. Paying homage to horror
icon George A. Romero, Cannon Fodder is Israel’s answer to
28 Days Later.
Using more than 150 litres of fake blood during its
making, and with a cast of ex-IDF* special-ops soldiers,
the film shocks with gob-smacking gore and authenticity
in its combat sequences.
IDF trooper Doron Geva (Liron Levo) spearheads
a mission with a battalion of soldiers he has never fought
alongside before. As the mission unfolds the team discovers
that a biological weapons test has gone horribly wrong,
forcing them to fight against a horde of ravenous zombies
hungry for their flesh.
Li v in g D e a d
Melbourne —
Sat 9 Nov Sat 16 Nov
11.00 pm
11.00 pm
—
Late night events to be confirmed.
Check jiff.com.au for details.
21
israel, france — 2013, 90 min
germany, israel — 2012, 104 min
Franziska Schlotter / language — German (English subtitles)
director —
Eytan Fox / language — Hebrew, French (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
f e at u r e
director —
Closed Season
Cupcakes
(Ende der Schonzeit)
Winner of the 2012 Audience Award at Germany’s Lunen Festival
and the 2012 Montreal World Film Festival.
Screening at Berlinale earlier this year, this is a suspense-filled
tale of love, desperation and jealousy by German filmmaker
Franziska Schlotter.
In 1942 Fritz (Hans-Jochen Wagner) and Emma (Brigitte
Hobmeier) are hiding Albert (Christian Friedel), a Jewish
refugee, at their remote farm in the Black Forest. Since his
marriage with Emma has remained childless, Fritz uses the
situation to suggest an unorthodox arrangement: He asks
Albert to sleep with his wife and conceive a child on his behalf.
The consequences are dramatic. Emma’s sexuality is awakened,
Fritz’s jealousy threatens to destroy him and Albert is trapped
between the two. Against the background of war Closed Season
is an unpredictable drama that turns offenders into victims
and vice versa.
22
D r a m a a n d D esir e
“Sweet, but not fattening... a cast of Israel’s brightest stars from
the worlds of television, movies and music.” — The Jerusalem Post
sydney —
Sun 10 Nov
Sat 16 Nov
6.15 pm
9.30 pm
Melbourne —
Thu 7 Nov Sun 17 Nov
(Bananot)
9.00 pm
3.30 pm
Eytan Fox, award-winning director of Yossi and Jagger,
Walk on Water and Yossi (JIFF 2012) celebrates the excitement
of Eurovision in a feel-good, romantic, sugar-coated romp
with music by Babydaddy of glam band Scissor Sisters.
A group of friends in Tel Aviv — who are all themselves
real-life Israeli divas, actresses and pin-up models — struggle
with existential and relationship crises in their lives. After
learning of Anat’s (Anat Waxman) marriage breakdown,
they write a song to cheer her up. Little do they know that
this amateur-grade song will become Israel’s entry into
a Eurovision-esque international competition.
A l l t h e Wo r l d ’ s a Stag e
sydney —
Wed 13 Nov
9.00 pm
Melbourne —
Mon 11 Nov
9.00 pm
23
Israel — 2012, 76 min
director —
Germany — 2011, 55 min
Idan Hubel / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
director —
Emanuel Rotstein / language — English, Hebrew (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
The Cut Off Man
The Eleventh Day —
The Survivors of Munich 1972
(Menatek Ha-maim)
With the pace and aura of an Abbas Kiarostami film,
Hubel explores how a broken economy can drain the humanity
and empathy out of a community.
Using the social protest movement and zeitgeist of
contemporary Israel, The Cut Off Man (Official Selection
Venice Days) is a gentle and understated film exploring
universal themes of economic hardship and social
disenfranchisement.
Renowned actor Moshe Igvy (The World is Funny, JIFF
2012) is revelatory as Gaby — an everyman trying to do his
job and support his family during tough times by working for
a privatised water company, cutting off the water supply to
people who haven’t paid their bills.
Debut feature writer-director, Idan Hubel provides a
startlingly resonant glimpse into working class Israeli society.
Takes the athletes and officials back to Munich to recount their stories,
and picks up where One Day In September left off.
On the 40th anniversary of the Munich Olympic Games,
seven of the eight surviving Israeli Olympic team members
of the Black September terrorist attacks finally break their
silence and relive the darkest chapter in Olympic history
for the first time.
Using archival footage and present-day interviews,
the survivors talk about their narrow escape, reliving the
dramatic hours, the memorial service, their ambiguous
return to Israel and how this harrowing event changed their
lives forever.
sydney —
Sat 2 Nov
4.30 pm
Melbourne —
Mon 11 Nov
Wed 20 Nov
Thu 21 Nov
12.00 pm
9.15 pm
2.45 pm
+
sydney —
Sat 16 Nov
4.15 pm
Melbourne —
Wed 13 Nov
Sat 23 Nov
6.45 pm
4.15 pm
s c r een i n g w it h Audition
Di r ecto r Udo Prinsen / n e t h er l a n ds — 6 m i n
In this beautifully animated story, a father in Auschwitz
listens to his son auditioning for the camp orchestra.
24
P ow er to t h e P eo p l e
T ri u m p h o f t h e S pirit
25
USA — 2012, 100 min
director —
israel — 2013, 73 min
Ela Thier / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
director —
Ran Tal / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
Foreign Letters
The Garden of Eden
“Though the emotional minefield of adolescence has been
the subject of countless films, Thier brings a fresh perspective to the genre.”
— Toronto Jewish Film Festival
This is a bittersweet and unsentimental coming-of-age film
that sees filmmaker Ela Thier establish herself as a powerful
new voice in independent American cinema.
Partly funded by 184 independent backers through
the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter, and featuring
a soundtrack by iconic Israeli musician Chava Alberstein,
Foreign Letters is the story of two 12-year-old girls, both
from war-torn countries, struggling to form their identities
and find their feet in America, on the brink of their
teenage years.
Ellie (Nora Rotsein) and Thuy (Dalena Le) develop
what appears to be an unshakable friendship until the
compulsion to belong, cultural pressures and the opiate
of acceptance shakes their commitment to each other.
Winner of Jerusalem Film Festival’s Best Documentary, Garden of Eden
is “a gorgeous film about the transformative nature of peace [and] solitude
and how beauty can unite us.” — Toronto Film Scene
sydney —
Tue 17 Nov
3.45 pm
Melbourne —
Sun 10 Nov
Wed 20 Nov (Gan Eden)
1.45 pm
12.15 pm
Gan HaShlosa National Park, also known by its Arabic name
Sakhne (hot pool), is one of the most beautiful parks in Israel
where visitors can swim all year round. It forms an oasis from
not just the heat, but the harsh realities of Israeli life, and brings
together a cross-section of Israeli society across the religious,
socioeconomic and cultural spectrum.
Nominated for a 2013 Ophir Award (Israel’s Oscars),
master filmmaker Ran Tal (Children of the Sun, 2007) creates
a work of cinematic beauty as he takes viewers through the
annual cycle of the Sakhne, presenting the stories of some of
the park’s diverse and familiar faces.
sydney —
Wed 6 Nov
9.00 pm
Melbourne —
Thu 7 Nov Mon 11 Nov
Mon 18 Nov
Thu 21 Nov
Sun 24 Nov
12.00 pm
2.45 pm
6.45 pm
12.15 pm
1.45 pm
PAR T NER DIS C OUN T: J e w is h M us eu m o f Aus t r a l i a
Present your Garden of Eden cinema ticket at the Jewish Museum
of Australia until 31 December 2013 to receive 50% off entry to its
current temporary exhibition In Season, showing until 6 July, 2014
j e w is h m us eu m .c o m . au
26
Co min g o f Ag e
T h e Sit uatio n (H a m at z av )
27
/ director — Margarethe von Trotta /
German, French, English, Hebrew, Latin (English subtitles)
germany, france, Luxembourg — 2012, 113 min
israel, USa — 2013, 107 min
director —
Reshef Levi / language — Hebrew, English (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
f e at u r e
language —
Hannah Arendt
Hunting Elephants
“Its climax matches some of the great courtroom scenes in cinema
and provides a stirring reminder that the labour of figuring out the world
is necessary, difficult and heroic.” — The New York Times
Written and directed by Margarethe von Trotta, New German
Cinema’s most venerated female filmmaker, Hannah Arendt
is as compelling and polarising as its eponymous protagonist.
Arendt, masterfully played by Barbara Sukowa, is sent
by The New Yorker to cover the trial of Adolf Eichmann in
Jerusalem. The article generates a storm of criticism by
the intellectual and Jewish communities, labelling her cold,
heartless and a self-hating Jew.
Von Trotta’s vision of Arendt offers understanding
into the formulation of her ideas — in particular what Arendt
termed ‘the banality of evil’ — which later culminated in her
seminal thesis of the same name. These ideas are also examined
in Claude Lanzmann’s The Last of the Unjust (pg. 33), also
screening at JIFF 2013.
28
B ril l i a n t Min ds
Hunting Elephants opened the Jerusalem Film Festival
and was nominated for seven 2013 Ophir Awards (Israel’s Oscars).
sydney —
Sun 3 Nov ★ Sat 9 Nov
6.00 pm
6.45 pm
Melbourne —
Fri 8 Nov Sat 9 Nov Tue 12 Nov ★ Fri 22 Nov Sat 23 Nov (Latzud Pilim)
12.00 pm
9.30 pm
6.30 pm
2.30 pm
6.45 pm
A huge box-office smash in Israel, Reshef Levi’s Hunting
Elephants unites some of Israel’s most treasured stars of
the stage and screen alongside Sir Patrick Stewart (Star Trek)
in this modern-day heist film.
After losing his father in traumatic circumstances,
socially awkward yet brilliant teenager Jonathon (Gil Blank)
is left in a nursing home by his mother with former bankrobber and curmudgeonly grandfather, Elijah, played by
award-winning actor Sasson Gabay, to keep him company.
Together, Jonathon and Elijah — with help from fellow
nursing home resident, Nick (Moni Moshonov), and an
eccentric English uncle, Lord Michael Simpson (Stewart) —
hatch a scheme to help Jonathon avenge his father’s death
and re-live their glory days.
Q ua l it y Sc h m a lt z
sydney —
Proudly presented by Sydney City Lexus:
Sat 2 Nov
7.00 pm
Sat 9 Nov
9.15 pm
MelbournE —
Sat 9 Nov
Sat 16 Nov
Sun 24 Nov
6.45 pm
9.15 pm
3.30 pm
—
Co-presented by
Sydney City Lexus
29
Israel, Germany, Poland — 2012, 90 min
director —
Canada, France — 2013, 90 min
Evgeny Ruman / language — Russian, Hebrew (English subtitles)
director —
Lewis Cohen / language — French (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
Igor & The Cranes’ Journey
Jews & Money
“Engagingly made... the story is a simple one, but it is
also gently moving.” — Screen Daily
“Even those already familiar with the Halimi case and with the history of anti-Semitism
come away emotionally rattled.” — The Jewish Daily Forward
(Igor Vemasa Ha’agurim)
Having screened to great audience reaction at the Toronto
and Chicago International Film Festivals, Evgeny Ruman’s
moving and poetic exploration of childhood, loneliness and
friendship defies age to appeal to cinema lovers of all ages.
In the aftermath of his parents’ divorce, 11-year-old
Igor (Itai Shcherback) relishes visits with his father, Peter
(Tomasz Sobczak) — a scientific bird watcher in the Russian
countryside. After Igor witnesses the birth of a baby crane,
who he names ‘Karl’, his world is turned upside-down when
his mother, Tanya (Ola Schur Selektar), announces they
are moving to Israel to start a new life.
30
Co min g Of Ag e
sydney —
Sun 17 Nov
1.00 pm
Melbourne —
Sun 10 Nov Sun 17 Nov
Thu 21 Nov
1.30 pm
1.45 pm
12.00 pm
In this provocatively titled, Emmy Award winning
documentary director Lewis Cohen (Cirque Du Soleil: Fire
Within) delves deeply into untruth, using the tragic case of
Ilan Halimi to debunk a flawed and erroneous stereotype.
When 26-year-old mobile-phone salesman Ilan Halimi
was kidnapped in Paris in 2006 and tortured for three weeks,
his captors demanded $500,000 ransom from his workingclass family on the assumption that, being a Jew, Halimi
must be wealthy.
Cohen uses in-depth interviews with Halimi’s mother,
journalists and legal representatives from both sides of the
case to detail one of the most notorious hate crimes in French
history, as well as one of the world’s most widespread
misconceptions of Jewish culture.
H au n t ed his to ries
sydney —
Tue 5 Nov
6.30 pm
Melbourne —
Fri 8 Nov
Tue 12 Nov
Wed 20 Nov
2.45 pm
9.30 pm
2.30 pm
31
Israel, France, Belgium — 2013, 60 min
director —
France, Austria — 2013, 219 min
Yotam Feldman / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
director —
Claude Lanzmann / language — German, French (English subtitles)
d o cu m en ta ry
d o cu m en ta ry
Claude Lanzmann during the filming of Shoah, Auschwitz 1981
Image courtesy of Claude Lanzmann
The Lab
The Last of the Unjust
(Hamaabada)
(Le Dernier des Injustes)
Winning Best Debut Film at this year’s Doc Aviv film festival,
Yotam Feldman’s The Lab taps into the provocative spirit of Michael Moore-style
documentary making, audaciously mixing the serious with the satirical.
Utilising unprecedented access to leading Israeli weapons
salesmen, The Lab follows some of the industry’s heavyweights
into a chilling and morally questionable world. It explores the
demand for Israeli military know-how — often by the very
states publicly denouncing Israel at every opportunity — to
combat the growing threat of armed resistance and guerrilla
forces in regions beyond the Middle East.
The Lab toys with a very difficult question of ambiguity
and hypocrisy, investigating how the Israeli military policy
in the territories has morphed from economic burden to
financial boom.
+
s c r een i n g w it h Until We Find A Place
Di r ecto r Renana Kol / Is r a el — 3 m i n
A colourful allegory to the well-known children’s
game of musical chairs.
sydney —
Thu 14 Nov 6.30 pm
Melbourne —
Sat 9 Nov Tue 19 Nov
4.30 pm
6.30 pm
“An extraordinary testimony, with shattering revelations...
a remarkable film.” — The Guardian
The Last of the Unjust, which screened in official selection at
Cannes this year, is the newest film from Claude Lanzmann,
the creator of Shoah* (1985) the seminal Holocaust
documentary. From interviews he did in 1975 while creating
Shoah, Lanzmann now focuses on a complex and unique
figure: the Jewish Council president of the Thereseinstadt
Ghetto, Benjamin Murmelstein. The film is essentially an
extended, in-depth interview with one of the most notorious
figures of the era.
Lanzmann gives viewers a revealing depiction of
Murmelstein, whose position highlights the complexities
of moral responsibility and complicates our judgements
and understanding of Jewish collaboration. These questions
are also considered in Hannah Arendt (pg. 28), also
screening at JIFF 2013.
sydney —
Sun 3 Nov
Tue 12 Nov
1.00 pm
6.30 pm
Melbourne —
Sun 10 Nov ★ Fri 15 Nov Mon 18 Nov
1.00 pm
12.00 pm
6.30 pm
P l e as e n ot e This film will screen with a short intermission.
32
T h e Sit uatio n (H a m at z av )
B ril l i a n t Min ds
33
israel — 2013, 180 MINS (3 × 60)
director —
israel — 2012, 52 min
Uri Rosenwaks & Rinat Klein / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
director —
Eyal Boers / language — English, Hebrew, French (English subtitles)
d o cu m en ta ry
d o cu m en ta ry
Leibowitz: Faith, Country & Man
Live or Die In Entebbe
“The insights and recollections that come out of these interviews
reveal intriguing facets of Leibowitz’s personality that don’t always mesh
with his public persona.” — Haaretz
A new documentary asks why Israel has overlooked
the other hostages who died alongside IDF* commando and
national hero, Yoni Netanyahu.
Radical philosopher, furious prophet, brilliant scientist and
scathing critic of Israeli politics, Yeshayahu Leibowitz was
known for his critical commentary on Israel’s policies in
the occupied territories, advocating the separation between
religion and state. Twenty years after his death, a new
generation of political, social and religious intelligentsia agree
that his arguments remain both insightfully prescient and
highly provocative.
Receiving Special Mention at the 2012 Jerusalem
International Film Festival, Leibowitz: Faith, Country, Man
features archival footage of Leibowitz and dynamic interviews
with his grandchildren and former students, offering a fresh
perspective on this extraordinary, leviathan mind.
For more than 35 years, three Israeli families have remembered
the events of Entebbe not as a shining moment of national unity,
but as a personal tragedy.
At 9am on 27 June 1976, 227 passengers boarded
an Air France flight from Tel Aviv. German and Palestinian
terrorists hijacked and rerouted the plane to Entebbe, where
they were welcomed by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. The
hijackers freed the non-Jewish crew and passengers, while
retaining 105 Jewish and Israeli hostages. Yoni Netanyahu
died along with three hostages. Filmmaker Eyal Boers, the
nephew of Pasco Cohen, one of the three hostages who died,
uncovers why Entebbe’s other victims were forgotten.
sydney —
Sun 10 Nov
1.00 pm
Melbourne —
Tue 12 Nov Thu 14 Nov
6.45 pm
12.15 pm
+
6.30 pm
Melbourne —
Thu 14 Nov Tue 19 Nov
Sun 24 Nov
6.45 pm
2.45 pm
1.15 pm
s c r een i n g w it h Basketball Game
Di r ecto r Hart Snider / Ca n a da — 5 m i n
P l e as e n ot e This film is in three parts
Set at a Jewish summer camp a basketball game
and will screen with a short intermission.
34
sydney —
Wed 13 Nov
about race takes on epic proportions.
b ril l i a n t m in ds
T ri u m p h o f t h e s pirit
35
poland — 1938, 97 min
director —
israel, germany — 2012, 89 min
Joseph Green & Konrad Tom / language — Yiddish (English subtitles)
director —
Brigitte Bertele & Julia Willmann / language — German (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
© Gregor Hohenberg
Mamele
Max Raabe In Israel
The ‘Queen of the Yiddish musical,’ Molly Picon, returns to the big screen
in a beautifully restored version of Joseph Green’s 1935 classic.
Max Raabe’s music is homage to 1920s and 1930s Weimar Germany and pre-war
European music, primarily written and originally performed by such talents as the Comedian
Harmonists, Marlene Dietrich, Friedrich Hollaender and Irving Berlin.
Celebrating its 75th anniversary with this remastered print,
Mamele* is a misty-eyed trip down memory lane for lovers of
Jewish cinema and the grand musicals of the ‘Golden Age’.
Set in Lodz in pre-World War Two Poland, the inimitable
Molly Picon plays dutiful daughter Mamele, who is keeping
her family together after the death of their mother. Like Jane
Austen’s Emma, she plays matchmaker for everyone else
— but will Mamele eventually find love with the handsome
violinist across the courtyard?
Incorporating Picon’s time-honoured showstopper
Abi Gezunt*, Mamele is the ultimate in feel-good fun.
+
sydney —
Sun 17 Nov
1.15 pm
Melbourne —
Sun 10 Nov ★ Thu 21 Nov
4.00 pm
2.30 pm
—
Co-presented by the
Pratt Foundation.
When the wildly popular Berlin-based singer Max Raabe
and his Palast Orchester brought their show Tonight or Never
to Israel in 2010, the reception was dramatic.
This film captures Raabe and his band’s thoughtful
reactions to their emotionally and politically charged
adventure, as well as the personal stories of concertgoers
of different generations.
Max Raabe in Israel is most remarkable as a celebration
of the healing power of music.
sydney —
Sun 17 Nov
3.30 pm
Melbourne —
Mon 11 Nov Wed 20 Nov
2.30 pm
6.45 pm
Film restoration and new English
subtitles by The National Center for
s c r een i n g w itH Like Children
Di r ecto r Oran Franco / aus t r a l i a — 8 . 5 m i n
Jewish Film. www.jewishfilm.org
In a little house on the outskirts of a Shtetl, fate has
brought Yoni and Sarah together.
36
A l l t h e wo r l d ’ s a s tag e
A l l t h e Wo r l d ’ s a Stag e
37
usa — 2012, 83 min
director —
israel — 2012, 60 min
Janet Tobias / language — English
director —
Dana Daron & Uriel Sinai / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
d o cu m en ta ry
d o cu m en ta ry
No Place on Earth
Numbered
“Let those who think they’ve heard every inspiring tale of survival
see this film.” — The Hollywood Reporter
“While the audience emerged with damp eyes, the overall message
is somehow upbeat.” — The New York Times
In 1942, 38 men, women and children slid down into a cold,
muddy hole in the ground, seeking refuge as Ukranian
authorities began rounding up Jewish citizens. These families
were forced to huddle in the belly of the earth — with no
food or water — in an effort to wait out the war in conditions
beyond human imagination. Their story was unearthed in
1993 when caving enthusiast, and former New York City
cop Chris Nicola, made a startling discovery.
An astonishing testament to human resilience, No
Place on Earth brilliantly recreates the families’ time inside
their subterranean hideaway — the vermin, the lack of
oxygen, the darkness, the primal fear — including remarkable
scenes as Chris Nicola leads four of the remaining elderly
survivors, now in their 80s and 90s, back to the cave.
The concentration camp serial-number tattoo — first branded
into the chest before moving to the left arm — remains a
horrific reminder of the Holocaust. Numbered is an emotional,
yet uplifting examination of the cross-generational meanings
these tattoos have assumed in the 70 years since the Nazi
death camps.
Numbered marries visually stunning photography with
fascinating interviews with five very different and strongwilled survivors, revealing the power and inspiration survivors
are able to pass onto their children and grandchildren, and
audiences around the world.
sydney —
Sun 3 Nov
Tue 5 Nov
6.15 pm
7.00 pm
Melbourne —
Thu 7 Nov Sun 10 Nov
Sat 16 Nov
12.15 pm
3.30 pm
6.45 pm
sydney —
Sun 3 Nov
Sun 10 Nov
9.00 pm
1.15 pm
Melbourne —
Mon 11 Nov ★ Sat 16 Nov
Tue 19 Nov
Thu 21 Nov
6.30 pm
4.15 pm
12.15 pm
6.45 pm
—
Co-presented by the JFFA
+
s c r een i n g w it h Reporting on the Times
Di r ecto r Emily Harrold / usa — 18 m i n
Why did The New York Times bury reports of the Holocaust
during World War Two? This film re-evaluates America’s role
as “The Great Liberator.” 38
t ri u m p h o f t h e s pirit
t ri u m p h o f t h e s pirit
39
germany, usa — 2012, 75 min
director —
Israel, France, Switzerland — 2012, 97 min
Alexa Karolinski / language — Yiddish, German (English subtitles)
director —
Avi Mograbi / language — Hebrew, Arabic (English subtitles)
d o cu m en ta ry
d o cu m en ta ry
Oma & Bella
Once I Entered a Garden
“For everyone who had a Jewish grandmother, or wanted one,
there’s Oma & Bella to help them remember.” — Variety
Holocaust survivors and Berlin residents, Regina (Oma)
Karolinski and Bella Katz, have been inseparable friends for
two generations. Creating food for the soul in their kitchen
using traditional recipes, their love of these home-cooked
dishes is the only remaining visceral link to a childhood cruelly
stolen during World War Two.
Made by Oma’s granddaughter, Alexa Karolinski, this
touching documentary follows these courageous and spirited
women through their daily lives as they share their stories
and a love of food.
“Weary of cinema’s ability to influence national affairs, [Mograbi’s] movies
are much less calls for revolt then wry reflections on the state of things, including
his own personal and professional troubles.” — The Hollywood Reporter
sydney —
Sun 3 Nov ★ 3.45 pm
Melbourne —
Fri 8 Nov ★ Mon 11 Nov
Wed 13 Nov
Fri 22 Nov
6.00 pm
12.15 pm
6.30 pm
2.45 pm
★ Jewish food & memory —
This traditional Shabbat* dinner
is presented as part of The Age Good
Food Month. Tickets are $55
and cannot be included in a pass.
(See pg. 8 for details)
40
wo m en o n fil m
(Nicgnasti Pa'am Lagan)
A lyrical and historically romantic odyssey, Once I Entered a
Garden idealises the harmonious pre-1948 lives of Jews and
Arabs in the Middle East. It is a paean to a time long gone that
shows the heartbreak experienced by both Jews and Arabs
during post-colonial reorganisation.
Maverick Israeli filmmaker and documentarian Avi
Mograbi (Avenge But One of My Eyes, Z32) takes a cinematic
road trip to a place beyond politics.
Once I Entered a Garden is largely a conversation
between Mograbi and his long-time friend and Arab teacher,
Ali Al Azhari.
T h e Sit uatio n (H a m at z av )
sydney —
Tue 12 Nov
7.00 pm
Melbourne —
Wed 13 Nov
Mon 18 Nov
9.00 pm
12.00 pm
41
israel — 2012, 53 min
israel — 2012, 100 min
Yehonatan Indursky / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
director —
Aner Preminger / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
director —
Ponevezh Time
Present Continuous
“It is the equivalent of Oxford, the Sorbonne and MIT all rolled into one...
It is a look at what life is really like for students and faculty there.”
— The Jerusalem Post
Nominated for Best Documentary this year at the Ophir
Awards (Israel’s Oscars), Ponevezh Time is an insightful
portrayal of life inside one of the most elite and inaccessible
yeshivas* in the world.
Former student Yehonatan Indursky is given
unprecedented access in this intriguing documentary,
capturing the sadness, conflict, joys and introspection
of five high-achieving students searching for their place
in a highly disciplined and homogenous world.
+ s c r een i n g w it h God is Kidding
Di r ecto r Boaz Balachsan & Dima Tretyakov / is r a el — 7 m i n
An animation exploring the eternal philosophical questions
During the 2002 Palestinian uprising, Ruti locks her house
to the outside. Her family wakes up to a claustrophobic prison for
an intimate and difficult weekend.
sydney —
Mon 11 Nov
6.30 pm
Melbourne —
Wed 13 Nov Mon 18 Nov
Thu 21 Nov
(Ha’chaim Beynataim)
12.15 pm
12.15 pm
6.30 pm
A suicide bombing at a nearby market on Shabbat* pushes
Ruti (Hagit Dasberg) to lock up her family — husband Joel
(Eyal Nachmias), son Ofer (Matan Preminger) and daughter
Noa (Tamar Preminger) — inside their Jerusalem apartment
after Ofer is called to his unit in the wake of the attack.
Cut off from communication with the outside world, the
incarceration forces them to confront family secrets, as well
as exposing their true selves amid the paralysis and despair
of life in Jerusalem during the Intifada*.
Present Continuous is an enthralling drama that explores
the crazy reality of living in Israel — the thin veneer
of coping with it all — and balancing peace with security.
sydney —
Sun 9 Nov
4.30 pm
Melbourne —
Tue 12 Nov Mon 18 Nov
Thu 21 Nov
12.15 pm
2.45 pm
9.15 pm
about God and faith through the eyes of children.
42
b ril l i a n t m in ds
T h e Sit uatio n (H a m at z av )
43
israel — 2012, 60 min
USA — 2013, 90 min
Richard Trank / language — English
director —
Menachem Roth / language — Yiddish, Hebrew (English subtitles)
d o cu m en ta ry
d o cu m en ta ry
director —
The Prime Ministers
Pursued
Narrated in part by Christoph Waltz and Michael Douglas, The Prime Ministers
provides rarely shown archival footage from Israel’s founding days... [and] behind
the scenes details of wars and US relations.
This revealing documentary takes us deep into the innercircle of some of Israel’s most revered and, sometimes,
reviled prime ministers — each one tasked with guiding
the nation through turbulent, challenging and inspiring
chapters of Israel’s history.
Relive the tension and drama of some of the state’s
most historically decisive moments: 1967’s Six Day War,
the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and the Camp David and
Oslo Accords.
The Prime Ministers is Israeli government as seen
through the eyes of former speechwriter and Ambassador
Yehuda Avner, based on his best-selling and astounding
eyewitness memoir.
44
T h e Sit uatio n (H a m at z av )
sydney —
Sat 2 Nov
Sun 10 Nov
4.15 pm
8.30 pm
Melbourne —
Thu 7 Nov Sat 9 Nov Tue 12 Nov Fri 15 Nov Sun 17 Nov Tue 19 Nov Sun 24 Nov 2.45 pm
4.15 pm
2.30 pm
2.30 pm
1.30 pm
6.45 pm
1.00 pm
(Radoof)
A compelling story of a man coming to terms with the sexual
abuse that he experienced as a student in a religious school.
A powerfully topical tale, Pursued is a film made by its
protagonist, Menachem Roth. As an adolescent attending
an all-male, haredi* yeshiva*, Roth was the helpless and
innocent victim of sexual abuse. Twenty years after his
harrowing ordeal, he makes the decision to confront his
abuser, and to document their disturbing relationship
on camera.
As harrowing as Roth’s story is, Pursued is a brave
search for justice and a means of coming to terms with
a traumatic childhood. Disturbing, thought-provoking
and poetic.
H au n t ed his to ries
sydney —
Thu 7 Nov
6.30 pm
Melbourne —
Thu 14 Nov ★ Fri 22 Nov
6.30 pm
12.15 pm
45
israel, france — 2012, 93 min
usa — 2012, 85 min
Jason Chaet / language — English
director —
Yariv Horowitz / language — Hebrew, Arabic (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
f e at u r e
director —
Putzel
Rock the Casbah
Winner of the Best Film at the Phoenix Film Festival.
“If movies are a drug, this film is a very happy pill! Edgy and moving, a witty story of
real life disappointments, self-limitations, and courage.” — The Huffington Post
For some people, life is an adventure. For Walter Himmelstein
(Jack T. Carpenter) — endearingly known in his Upper West
Side neighbourhood as ‘Putzel’* — life is anything but.
Featuring Curb Your Enthusiasm star Susie Essman,
the comparisons between Putzel and Woody Allen’s famed
New York oeuvre (Manhattan, Annie Hall) are inescapable.
Director Jason Chaet and his outstanding cast give this
film a comedic charm and a refreshingly new spin on the
time-honoured cinematic subject of growing up.
46
Q ua l it y Sc h m a lt z
sydney —
Mon 4 Nov
9.00 pm
Melbourne —
Sun 10 Nov Fri 15 Nov
Mon 18 Nov
8.30 pm
12.15 pm
9.00 pm
(Rock ba’Casbah)
“Set in the Gaza Strip circa 1989, at the height of the first
Intifada*, war-is-hell drama Rock the Casbah illustrates the futility
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” — Variety
Award-winning war drama Rock the Casbah received the
prestigious Art Cinemas award at Berlinale earlier this year
and is sure to spark debate among festivalgoers.
Rock the Casbah follows Tomer (Yon Tumarkin) and his
army unit during the first Intifada in 1989. When a member
of the company is killed on patrol when a washing machine
is thrown on him from a rooftop, Tomer is one of four men
chosen by his commanding officers to carry out a surveillance
operation to catch the perpetrator.
First-time feature filmmaker Yariv Horowitz injects
youthful vitality from his experience directing music
videos to produce a gripping action film recalling the visual
style of Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbour, connecting
authentically with the reality of the young soldiers and their
absurd predicament.
T h e Sit uatio n (H a m at z av )
sydney —
Thu 31 Oct
Mon 11 Nov
9.00 pm
9.00 pm
Melbourne —
Thu 7 Nov
Wed 13 Nov
Sun 17 Nov
Wed 20 Nov
9.15 pm
12.00 pm
8.30 pm
2.45 pm
47
/ director — Darko Mitrevski /
Macedonian, German, Bulgarian, Ladino, English (English subtitles)
macedonia — 2012, 113 min
USA — 2013, 67 min
Jason Hutt / language — English
language —
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
director —
Sukkah City
The Third Half
“The film is ultimately about the artistic process of designers and architects,
and more broadly, ideas and the execution of ideas. It also captures the excitement around
an installation in one of New York City’s great public spaces.” — The Atlantic
In 2010 in conjunction with New York think-tank Reboot,
journalist Joshua Foer and his colleague Roger Bennet,
(co-founder of Reboot and the Idelsohn Society for Musical
Preservation), sought to radically shift the perception of
what constitutes a sukkah* by staging an international
architectural competition in New York City.
Featuring noted artists, designers and critics, such
as Michael Arad, Ron Arad, Rick Bell, Maira Kalman
and Paul Goldberger; this film is a must-see for aficionados
of modern architecture, as well as Jewish culture.
Sukkah City chronicles the astonishing scenes of
200,000 people flocking to Union Square to see these
contemporary and mind-blowing sukkah designs in this
engrossing documentary.
48
R eim aginin g Cu lt u r e
sydney —
Thu 7 Nov
9.00 pm
Melbourne —
Sun 17 Nov Thu 21 Nov ★ 1.15 pm
9.00 pm
(Treto Poluvreme)
Macedonia’s entry for the Academy Awards
Foreign Language Oscar, The Third Half is a moving tale that
will appeal to both cineastes and fans of World Soccer.
Celebrated as the best film to come out of Macedonia and
inspired by a true story, The Third Half meshes love, soccer
and the persecution of the Macedonian Jewish community
in this thrilling film bursting with Balkan spirit.
Just as the pathetic Macedonian football team starts
to make some progress with their new coach Rudolph Spitz
(Richard Sammel), Nazi tanks roll through the city and
Spitz is kicked off the team. Meanwhile, the beautiful
daughter of a Jewish banker Rebecca (Katarina Ivanovska)
falls in love with the star player and the team is forced to
choose what it will fight for.
T ri u m p h o f t h e S pirit
sydney —
Sun 10 Nov
Sat 16 Nov
6.00 pm
6.45 pm
Melbourne —
Thu 7 Nov Sun 17 Nov Wed 20 Nov Sun 23 Nov 6.45 pm
3.45 pm
6.30 pm
4.30 pm
49
israel — 2013, 93 min
Argentina, France, Spain, Norway — 2013, 93 min
Gur Bentvich / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
director —
Lucia Puenzo / language — Spanish, German, Hebrew (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
f e at u r e
director —
Up the Wrong Tree
Wakolda
(Laradet Me-Ha’etz)
Gathering a raft of nominations at last year’s Ophir Awards (Israel’s Oscars),
Up the Wrong Tree is an entertaining and quirky film highlighting the social protest
movement and the fracturing of Israeli society.
Adding to his impressive body of work, including Israeli cult
classic Total Love (Mashehu Totali), eminent filmmaker Gur
Bentvich returns with his first feature film in over a decade.
Nitzan (Gal Toren) — a renowned slacker — returns to
Israel after spending time abroad in Australia. He immediately
sets his sights on winning back the love he dumped when he
left, Kessem (Sarah Adler), and the couple’s dog, Zorba.
While Nitz fights for Kessem, the community fights
to save an old tree from demolition, so that developers
can build a car park. Nitz finds himself up the tree — in
line with his anti-everything attitude — and although
initially focussed on his own romantic pursuits, becomes
increasingly invested in those of the community.
50
p ow er to t h e p eo p l e
sydney —
Sun 10 Nov
8.45 pm
Melbourne —
Wed 13 Nov Tue 19 Nov Fri 22 Nov 9.15 pm
2.30 pm
12.00 pm
In the tradition of The Boys From Brazil (1978) and Marathon Man (1976),
Wakolda is a chilling and visually stunning fictional tale about the escape
of one of the most notorious war criminals of all time.
Nominated for Un Certain Regard at the 2013 Cannes
Film Festival, noted Argentinian director Lucia Puenzo’s
tension-laden drama, tells of the imagined experiences
of a family in 1960s Argentina who come into close contact
with Dr Josef Mengele, the engineer of the Third Reich’s
experiments to create a master race.
The charismatic Mengele takes refuge in a recently
opened Patagonian villa run by a young family with twins
on the way. The doctor is drawn toward the couple’s
sensitive and delicate daughter, Lilith, who — except for
her miniscule stature — represents the ‘perfect specimen’
on which to continue his ghoulish work.
Wakolda’s rumbling and creepy soundtrack is by
Melbourne’s iconic instrumental rock trio The Dirty Three.
h au n t ed his to ries
sydney —
Sat 2 Nov Sat 9 Nov 6.45 pm
9.30 pm
Melbourne —
Sat 9 Nov Sun 17 Nov
Sat 23 Nov
7.00 pm
6.00 pm
9.15 pm
51
israel — 2013, 95 min
israel — 2013, 89 min
director —
Danni Reisfeld / language — Hebrew, Russian (English subtitles)
director —
Nissem Mossek / language — Hebrew, Arabic, German (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
White Panther
Wild West Hebron
(Pantar Lavan)
Nominated for a 2013 Ophir Award (Israel’s Oscars), White Panther
taps into the dark underbelly of the Russian migrant experience in contemporary Israel.
Danni Reisfeld’s audience-rousing film is a complex, gritty, Jewish version of Rocky.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, one million
Russian Jews migrated to Israel. Many migrants had difficulty
integrating and many settled in peripheral areas dominated
by Russians, many dissatisfied with their new lives. These
self-made ghettos were a fertile ground for the creation of
self-hating Jewish skinheads.
White Panther tells the story of Alex, who joins a gang,
led by his older brother. When he meets David, a religious
Moroccan Jew, his world opens up, and he is inspired to
pursue his real dream — to become a world-class boxer like
his father.
52
d r a m a a n d d es ir e
sydney —
Sun 3 Nov
8.30 pm
Melbourne —
Sun 10 Nov
Wed 13 Nov
Tue 19 Nov
9.15 pm
2.45 pm
9.00 pm
Like all classic Westerns, Wild West Hebron is set amidst an unruly
and arid landscape, where rogue outlaws challenge social order, and the distinction
between heroes and villains is blurred.
This latest offering from independent social activist
documentary filmmaker, Nissim Mossek (pictured above),
Wild West Hebron is the recipient of an Honorary Mention
award at this year’s Jerusalem Film Festival.
In the often-violent area of Mt Hebron, conflicts
between Palestinians, Israeli settlers, and human-rights
activists may seem clear-cut but the journey of one settler
breaks the mould and shatters traditional narratives.
Born-again Jew Yochanan Sharet became notorious for
his harassment of Palestinians and his clashes with left-wing
activist Ezra Nawi. After finding the tables turned — his life,
family and farmhouse now being threatened — Yochanan’s
only hope turns out to be his former nemesis.
T h e Sit uatio n (H a m at z av )
sydney —
Thurs 14 Nov
9.00 pm
Melbourne —
Thurs 14 Nov
Sun 24 Nov
9.00 pm
1.30 pm
53
Netherlands, Belgium — 2012, 95 min
israel — 2012, 53 min
Michal Aviad / language — Hebrew (English subtitles)
director —
Vincent Bal / language — English, Dutch, French (English subtitles)
f e at u r e
d o cu m en ta ry
director —
Women/Pioneers
The Zigzag Kid
(Ha’chulutzot)
The women pioneers who came to Israel in the early 20th century
wanted to build a new world and create a new woman in 1920s Palestine
that was just as independent as men.
Screening earlier this year at Doc Aviv, Women/Pioneers
is made by award-winning socio-political director Michal
Aviad and documents the involvement women had in the
creation of the famous Kibbutz* Ein Harod.
These courageous women were new migrants from
all over Europe fighting for equality and protesting against
sexual discrimination. This is the story of their lives, their
passionate pursuits and their painful failures.
Eventually the women abandoned their struggle to
focus on achieving the dream that they shared with men —
the dream of creating a new nation.
+
A nostalgic coming-of-age film based on Israeli writer
David Grossman’s bestselling novel, The Zigzag Kid, that has wooed
film-festival audiences around the world.
sydney —
Sun 10 Nov
3.30 pm
Melbourne —
Wed 13 Nov Sun 17 Nov
(Nono, het Zigzag Kind)
2.30 pm
1.00 pm
Nono Feierberg (Thomas Simon) is desperate to follow in
his famous police-inspector father’s footsteps. On the eve of
his Bar Mitzvah, what begins as a harmless sleuthing challenge
given to him by father (Fedja van Huet) becomes a rollicking,
madcap escapade. Nono is focussed on discovering the truth
about his mother, who has been absent since his birth, but
instead he discovers some very important things about himself.
Vincent Bal’s (Man of Steel, 1999) cinematic tour
de force will stand the test of time. Screen legend Isabella
Rossellini plays ingénue nightclub songstress and Burghart
Klaussner (Goodbye, Lenin!) plays a criminal mastermind
in this whimsical and entertaining film.
sydney —
Sun 3 Nov
1.15 pm
Melbourne —
Sun 10 Nov Sun 24 Nov
1.15 pm
3.45 pm
s c r een i n g w it h Batman at the Check Point
Di r ecto r Rafael Balulu / G er m a n y, is r a el — 10 m i n
Stuck at a security checkpoint outside Jerusalem two six-year-old boys
forge a fleeting friendship. Berlinale Talent Campus Prize Winner.
54
wo m en o n fil m
co min g o f ag e
55
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March, 2014
A series dedicated to stories of
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TH E C L AS S I C G I FT
C L A SSIC G IF T C A RD S A RE T H E PERF EC T G IF T,
B EC AU SE EV ERYO N E LOV ES T H E F L IC K S.
G IF T C A RD S C A N B E U SED F O R J IF F.
A SK AT T H E C L A SSIC B OX O F F IC E TO DAY
Available from your local supermarket
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facebook.com/classiccinemas | 9 Gordon St, Elsternwick | (03) 9524 7900
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