Break out the popcorn – two initiatives to get Israelis to the movies have just been announced, one for soldiers and one for everyone.
A new Israeli Cinema Day is coming up on February 7, where Israeli movies will be NIS 10 for all, and only locally made movies will be screened. Those who have Mifal Hapayis membership will be eligible for a special price.
The Israeli movies will include recently released movies, as well as upcoming films. Viewers who haven’t yet had a chance to catch Avi Nesher’s The Monkey House and Adar Shafran’s Running on the Sand, two movies that mix comedy and drama to tell thought-provoking stories, can see them now at this low price.
Released movies
This year’s big Ophir Awards winner, Seven Blessings, directed by Ayelet Menahemi, about a Moroccan woman fighting against a custom that harmed her psychologically, is also part of this campaign.
Unreleased movies that have generated advance buzz include Jonathan Dekel’s Checkout, the story of a Mossad spy who goes rogue to catch a terrorist, and Ron Ninio’s Farewell Column (Tur Preda), which stars Dror Keren as a newspaper columnist torn between his love life and his complex family.
Another initiative announced this week, by the Culture and Sport Ministry, is aimed at showing appreciation for reserve soldiers, who will be able to buy a pair of tickets to any movie showing in theaters – not only Israeli films – and get free popcorn, all for NIS 10.
As Israeli moviegoers know all too well, two tickets and a snack can cost close to NIS 120, so it’s a significant saving for these soldiers and will help them to have some fun when they are away from the battlefield.
Soldiers must register for this discount on the Behatsdaa website at https://www.behatsdaa.org.il/login/. The discount will be available to those who register until June 2024.