Haifa International Film Festival

Iranian singer Gola brings message of hope to Haifa International Film Festival

Iranian singer Gola sang alongside Yuval Raphael, a Nova festival survivor, at the opening of the Haifa International Film Festival on Saturday.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
GOLAZIN ARDESTANI attends the Haifa festival this week.
AVI NESHER at the podium at his tribute.

Haifa International Film Festival opens with emotional tribute to Avi Nesher

Our Loves received a standing ovation, and the tribute referenced Nesher’s personal and professional connections to the festival in a way that was especially meaningful.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
JOHN TURTURRO stars in "The Last Pickpocket in New York."

Haifa International Film Festival brings celebrated cinema and classics to the Carmel

Major new films, a strong Israeli lineup, ambitious documentaries, Japanese masterpieces, and Streisand singing her heart out make this year’s Haifa International Film Festival a fantastic event.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
MARIANNE FAITHFULL in the documentary ‘Broken English.’

Haifa International Film Festival to present the best of world cinema

The festival’s main international competition, Carmel, will open with Boyle’s Ink, which opened this year’s Venice Film Festival.

|ByHANNAH BROWN

Haifa International Film Festival announces Israeli lineup

Ophir Awards are the top prize for excellence in the Israel film industry, known locally as known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2021ByHANNAH BROWN
'Plan A'

Pnina Blayer steps down as director of Haifa International Film Festival

Blayer, one of the most influential figures in the Israeli film industry, became the artistic director of the festival in 1988.

FEBRUARY 18, 2021ByHANNAH BROWN
PNINA BLAYER

Haifa International Film Festival announces winners

Leaving Paradise by Ofer Freiman won the Best Film Award in the Israeli Documentary Film Competition, and its creators will receive NIS 40,000 as part of this prize.

OCTOBER 11, 2020ByHANNAH BROWN
‘LEAVING PARADISE,’ the winner of the Israeli Documentary Competition.

The love story behind Skin, a film about conquering hate

Skin is a fact-based American drama about Bryon Widner, a skinhead who underwent dozens of operations to remove tattoos from all over his body after he left the white supremacist movement.

OCTOBER 20, 2019ByHANNAH BROWN
Jaime Ray Newman, Guy Nattiv and Pnina Blayer, the artistic director of the Haifa International Film Festival

Acclaimed Israeli film 'Tel Aviv on Fire' picks up U.S. distribution deal

The film won the top prize at the Haifa Film Festival and a number of other plaudits.

OCTOBER 11, 2018ByAMY SPIRO
A SCENE from 'Tel Aviv on Fire' by Samach Zuabi.

The absolute best

The Haifa Film Festival brims over with excellent movies from around the world.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2018ByHANNAH BROWN
'First Man'

Haifa Film Festival to show the absolute best from around the world

The films will be shown at the Haifa Cinematheque and many other theaters around the city, and there will be a virtual reality exhibit and many outdoor events.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018ByHANNAH BROWN
An aerial shot of Haifa during Israel's annual Independence Day airshow, April 19, 2018

Avi Nesher’s ‘The Other Story’ will open the Haifa Film Festival

This will be the first time that in more than a decade that an Israeli movie has opened the Haifa festival.

AUGUST 21, 2018ByHANNAH BROWN
Avi Nesher's 'The Other Story'

French actress stars in the Holocaust drama 'Memory of Pain'

French acctress, Melanie Thierry stars as Marguerite Duras in 'Memoir of Pain.'

OCTOBER 21, 2017ByHANNAH BROWN
MELANIE THIERRY portrays French literary icon Marguerite Duras in ‘Memoir of Pain.’

The Lounge

This week's social news and more.

OCTOBER 16, 2017ByMICHAL GALANTI
IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and wife Ronit at their daughter's wedding