Israeli, international films announced for Jerusalem film fest

This year the Israeli competition features movies by both new and veteran directors.

By HANNAH BROWN
NICOLE KIDMAN and Colin Farrell in ‘The Beguiled.’ (photo credit: COLLIDER)
NICOLE KIDMAN and Colin Farrell in ‘The Beguiled.’
(photo credit: COLLIDER)
The movies in the Israeli and international competitions of the Jerusalem Film Festival have just been announced. The 34th Jerusalem Film Festival will take place at the Jerusalem Cinematheque from July 13-23, with some screenings at Yes Planet and the newly renovated Lev Smadar.
The line-up for the Haggiag Competition for Israeli Feature Films is always one of the most eagerly awaited announcements, since so many films that premiere at the Jerusalem Film Festival have gone on to great international success.
This year the Israeli competition features movies by both new and veteran directors. Savi Gabizon is best known for his film Nina’s Tragedies, starring Ayelet Zurer, and his new movie, Longing, will premiere at the festival. It stars Shai Avivi, Assi Levy and Neta Riskin in a story about a man who discovers secrets about his past.
Other films in the Israeli Competition include Ofir Raul Graizer’s The Cakemaker, about a German pastry chef who has an affair with a married Israeli man, starring Zohar Shtrauss and Sarah Adler; Shady Srour’s Holy Air, about conflicts between a traditional husband and his more progressive wife in Nazareth, starring Laëtitia Eïdo (one of the stars of Fauda) and Samuel Calderon; and Dana Goldberg and Efrat Mishori’s Death of a Poetess, which stars Evgenia Dodina in the title role, as a woman who crosses paths briefly with a nurse. Dodina also stars in Veronica Kedar’s Family.
The Van Leer Israeli Documentary Competition also includes movies by established directors and emerging talents.
Among these will be Ran Tal’s The Museum, a look behind the scenes at the Israel Museum, and Anat Yuta Zaria and Shira Clara Winther’s Meilech, about sexual harassment in the ultra-Orthodox community.
There will be a number of special screenings of Israeli films at the festival, including a restored version of Matzor (Siege) a1969 film, directed by Gilberto Tofano, that tells the story of a war widow (Gila Almagor), who is pressured by her husband’s friends not to move on with her life, and also stars Yehoram Gaon. It was shown in Cannes Classics section last spring.
The Wilf International Competition will feature the best of contemporary world cinema, including Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled, which won the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival and stars Nicole Kidman, and Francois Ozon’s latest movie, Double Lover, starring Marine Vacth and Jacqueline Bisset.
The opening-night film will be Michel Hazanavicius’ Redoubtable. Hazanavicius, whose 2011 film The Artist won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, will attend the festive opening- night ceremony and screening at the Sultan’s Pool amphitheater. Redoubtable is a fictionalized look at the life of director Jean-Luc Godard.
Tickets for the festival will go on sale on June 30. The festival website is http://jff.org.il.