The critically lauded and multi-award winning Hungarian drama SON OF SAUL from writer/director László Nemes, has been selected as the film to open this years’ Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF).
Nemes’ deeply poignant film, winner of the Grand Prix at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, follows a father’s quest for moral redemption as he tries to salvage the body of a boy whom he believes to be his son, amidst the horrors of 1944 Auschwitz.
Closing this years’ Festival will be the thrilling Sabena Hijacking – My Version, which was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2015 Ophir Awards (Israeli Oscars). This film features interviews with over 20 participants and a moment by-moment reenactment of the 1972 hijacking of Belgian’s Sabena Flight 571 by four armed members of the Palestinian Black September terrorist organization and the subsequent storming of the jet by Israel’s Special Forces Unit.
Between these two enthralling cinematic bookends festival-goers can look forward to a feast of 58 superb features and documentaries. At a quick glance here are some that look particularly inviting:-
77:78 ON THE MAP
Israel / 2015 / 78 min / Director: Dani Menkin
1977 is a tough year for Israel. But amongst the tensions with Palestine and the resignation of Prime Minister Rabin, something unexpected happens: Maccabi Tel Aviv, a fairly average basketball team, managed to take on the rest of the world in the European Cup. What began as a simple sporting event, became a triumphant symbol for Israel itself.
A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS
Israel / 2015 / 95 min / Director: Natalie Portman
Premiering in official selection at Cannes 2015, this is Natalie Portman’s much-anticipated directorial debut, in which she also stars as Fania, a Holocaust survivor (and mother of Amos Oz, one of Israel’s best-known writers) who struggles with the horrors of the past, whilst facing the challenges of the present. Based on Oz’s best-selling memoir.
BY SIDNEY LUMET
USA / 2015 / 103 min / Director: Nancy Buirski
In a never-before-seen interview recorded a few years before his death, legendary filmmaker Sidney Lumet guides us through his life and work – from his early years on the Yiddish stage to directing of some of cinema’s most enduring classics, including 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico and Network. With his typical candour, humour and grace, Lumet reveals what mattered to him as an artist and a human being.
CENSORED VOICES
Germany / 2015 / 84 min / Director: Mor Loushy
One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, a group of young kibbutzniks, led by renowned author Amos Oz and Editor Avraham Shapira, recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these original recordings for the first time. Winner of Best Documentary at the 2015 Ophir Awards (Israeli Oscars)
EXPERIMENTER
USA / 2015 / 90 min / Director: Michael Almereyda
In 1961, Yale University psychology professor Stanley Milgram was determined to discover how and why people could be pushed to extremes. The son of Holocaust survivors, he was driven to create the ‘obedience experiments’ which demonstrated to what lengths ordinary people might go, if commanded to by an authority figure. Branded a monster by the press, Milgram fought to prove to the world that ‘evil’ may not be what we thought.
ENCIRCLEMENTS
Israel / 2014 / 98 min / Director: Lee Gilat
13 year-old Aharon is an only child who is determined to carry the Torah scrolls on Simchat Tora and impress Alizia, the most popular girl in the neighbourhood. But the selection causes age-old tensions between his mother and father to surface. Torn between his parents’ conflicting wishes, Aharon finds himself under intense pressure that threatens to turn his triumph into disaster.
FAUDA
Israel / 2015 / 12 Episodes (approx. 35 minutes each) in total / Creators: Avi Issacharoff & Lior Raz
This tense, gripping show is the biggest Israeli TV hit of the year, showing all sides of the conflict from the Israeli soldiers to the Arab civilians caught up in the crossfire. Following in the footsteps of Homeland and In Treatment, Fauda is tipped to be the next Israeli series to be remade in America. Binge-watch episodes at JIFF over 4 sessions or the marathon viewing of all 12 episodes on a Sunday!
FELIX AND MEIRA
Canada / 2014 / 105 min / Director: Maxime Giroux
Meira is a Hasidic wife and mother consumed by the strict rules of her society. Felix is an eccentric French-Canadian man mourning his wealthy father. When the two meet in a bakery, an unexpected friendship is born. It soon blossoms into something more as they open one another’s eyes to the possibilities that lie beyond their worlds. Trapped by tradition, Meira must decide whether to remain in the only life she’s ever known, or give it all up to be with Felix. Canada’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2016 Oscars.
IMAGINARY FEASTS
France, Belgium / 2015 / 70 min / Director: Anne Georget
In the Nazi concentration camps, the Gulag and the Japanese war camps, prisoners would write hundreds of cooking recipes. These starving inmates, who would kill for a piece of bread, painstakingly wrote these recipes at great personal risk. These recipes became a universal act of resistance. This documentary explores the extraordinary moments in history that have never been studied before. Premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.
THE KIND WORDS
Israel, Canada / 2015 / 90 min / Director: Shemi Zarhin
When three siblings gather to mourn the death of their mother, they learn something very unexpected about the real identity of their father. Determined to discover the truth, these unlikely travelling companions embark on journey from Israel to Paris to find out more about themselves than they ever knew. Nominated for the highest number of 2015 Ophir Awards (Israeli Oscars).
LABYRINTH OF LIES
Germany / 2014 / 124 min / Director: Giulio Ricciarelli
When Johann Radmann, an ambitious young lawyer in 1958 Frankfurt, discovers that many former Nazis have quietly reintegrated into German society, he begins seeking them out, building cases against these one-time war criminals. But it’s a tougher fight than he anticipates, as he experiences pushback from a country that simply wants to forget. Germany’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2016 Oscars.
MY SHORTEST LOVE AFFAIR
France / 2015 / 78 min / Director: Karin Albou
Twenty years after their love affair, Louisa and Charles accidentally meet at a Parisian arts festival. After a night of drinking, the two reconnect and Louisa discovers she is pregnant. The two decide to raise the child together in this darkly comic film about second chances. Written and directed by the film’s star, Karin Albou (Little Jerusalem).
ON THE BANKS OF THE TIGRIS: THE HIDDEN STORY OF IRAQI MUSIC
Australia / 2015 / 79 min / Dir: Marsha Emerman
Majid is an Iraqi-Australian determined to find the source of the music he grew up with. When he discovers the Jewish influence in Iraqi music, and its whitewashing from history, it sets him off on a journey from Australia to Israel, Europe and Iraq to meet musicians of all faiths and unite them in a concert for peace and reconciliation. Winner of Best Documentary at the Baghdad International Film Festival.
POCKETS OF HOPE
Australia / 2015 / 113 min / Director: Judy Menczel
Australian singer and activist Fay Sussman had vowed never to return to Poland. Overcoming her fear and anger, she went there and discovered a generation of Poles working to establish a new relationship with the Jewish community. Fay discovers that through her music, she can restore her culture to Poland and begin the journey of reconciliation.
THE POLGAR VARIANT
Israel / 2014 / 68 min / Director: Yossi Aviram
László Polgár was a passionate man who believed that genius was something you could teach, and set out to prove it using his three daughters. Suzan, Sofi and Judit were kept from school and trained to become chess masters in communist-controlled Budapest of the 1970s. He taught them to beat not just their opponents, but all expectations. Official selection at the Jerusalem Film Festival
SEED OF LIFE
Israel / 2014 / 77 min / Director: Tzipi Baider
Only hours after her son Keivan dies in battle, a woman realises that she can still give him a future. His sperm is harvested and frozen, and she sets about interviewing women who would carry her grandchild. Now, 11 years after his death, Keivan is about to become a father. A moving documentary of post-tragedy decisions and one family’s remarkable journey to hold onto life.
SOFT VENGEANCE: ALBIE SACHS AND THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa, USA / 2014 / 84 min / Director: Abby Ginzberg
As a young, white, Jewish man in South Africa, Albie Sachs was determined to help bring Apartheid to an end. A fierce advocate for equality, Sachs was subsequently jailed, put in solitary confinement, tortured, exiled, and the subject of an attempted assassination. When his friends promised to avenge him, Sachs resisted the idea: if we achieve true freedom and democracy, he said, that will be my soft vengeance.
JIFF will screen between the 28th October and the 18th November at Event Cinemas, Bondi Junction. For more detailed information and to book tickets visit the official website at http://www.jiff.com.au
JIFF has kindly offered the Guide 10 double passes that can be used during the Festival. Be the first to email the Editor on editor.sydneyartsguide@gmail.com to win. Winners will be advised by email.