Yossi: Tribeca FF's 2012 Opening Night Narrative Film

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Monday, 12 March 2012 16:56

Written by Laura Blum

Yossi
Directed by Eytan Fox
starring Ohad Knoller, Yehuda Levi, Orly Zilbershatz

The Bible tells us there's nothing new under the sun. Yet Yossi, the Israeli drama opening Tribeca Film Festival's World Narrative Competition (April 19, 2012) says there is.

Directed by Eytan Fox, Yossi is the sequel to his wartime romance Yossi & Jagger. In the 10 years since Fox shot that 2002 release, Israel has shed some of its machismo and become more accepting of homosexuality. (To wit, gay themes will share the spotlight at this year's Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival in Tel Aviv.) In today's more progressive Israel, Yossi's title hero is out of the closet -- if not out of the woods.

It's 2010, a decade after the death of Yossi's lover Jagger (Yehuda Levi) in South Lebanon. Yossi is now a successful cardiologist, though his own heart is still convalescing. When Jagger's mother (Orly Zilbershatz) unexpectedly shows up at the hospital, so do the doctor's demons. Why Yossi remains mired in past traumas will come in for a probing.

Israeli cinema has come a long way since its early salutes to warrior mythology. Zionism set out to create a new breed of Jewish man in reaction against the effeminate Diaspora caricature, and yet filmmakers like Fox who are subverting the tough guy image are forging a new link in the nation's identity chain.

The fact that Yossi & Jagger was based on a true story lent it a certain gravitas and helped smooth its way into local hearts and minds. Originally made for Israel Cable Programming, it became a domestic box-office hit and a festival darling.

The film had its US premiere at the second annual TFF. Ohad Knoller took home a medal for his portrayal of Israel Defense Forces company commander Yossi, and he was tapped to play the older Yossi in this follow up. The new production is something of a class reunion for 48-year-old Fox and his creative alum: Lior Ashkenazi, who starred in his 2004 Mossad drama Walk on Water, plays a doctor on Yossi's ward; and Zilbershatz appeared in his 1994 comedy set during the first Gulf War, Song of the Siren/Shirat Ha'Sirena.

Newcomers include Oz Zehavi, in the role of Yossi's new lover, and Yediot Ahronot TV critic Itay Segal, who wrote the screenplay. (Long-time partner and scriptwriter Gal Uchovsky sat this one out.)

Will Fox's next project be a third installment in the Yossi series? Or will the Manhattan-born, Jerusalem-raised filmmaker take on the story of his father, as he suggested following the TFF 2007 screening of his make-love-not-war seriocomedy The Bubble? Just how Fox would weave Conservative rabbi and Jewish educational leader Seymour Fox into his canon -- which generally canvasses gay love and political tensions -- remains to be seen. But it'd surely offer up something else new under the sun.

Tribeca Film Festival
World Narrative Competition
April 19, 2012

Tribeca Film Festival 2012: Springtime for Documentaries

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Sunday, 11 March 2012 05:08

Written by Laura Blum

Spring is springing. Green shoots are poking through, daylight is waxing and the Tribeca Film Festival is hatching its lineup. The 11th TFF (April 18 - 29, 2012) announced slate has film fans chirping lustily as they prep to hibernate in dark plexes following winter's end.

Hope springs eternal that the narrative selection will dazzle -- and indeed, this year shows promise -- yet it's the documentary silo that has consistently delivered at lower Manhattan's hallmark fest.

This year, a trio of nonfiction films will receive Special Screenings. There's Tracy Holder and Karen Thorsen's Joe Papp in Five Acts, about the legendary Public Theater founder and his imprint on artists from Meryl Streep to James Earl Jones.

And the performing arts motif extends to two music-themed works: Danny Bennett's The Zen of Bennett, tracking Tony Bennett's recording of a duets album with Lady Gaga, Aretha Franklin and other stars, and Queen: Days of Our Lives, Matt O'Casey's five-decade history of the band, including Freddie Mercury's swan song.

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True/False Film Fest: A New Breed of Film Festival

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Thursday, 08 March 2012 16:48

Written by Renzo Adler

For its 9th installment, the True/False Film Festival (March 1-4, 2012) returns to Columbia, Missouri for a unique combination of film festival, carnival, summer camp and political discussion. True/False brings a unique blend of films,some discovered at Sundance or Toronto, others making their premiere, but all deeply engaging and provocative.

The theme of the festival deals with documentaries, but also films about discovery or unearthing the truth. Rather than just a few movies in a dark room with a bloated party and pedantic step-and-repeats, True/False is a festival with a sense of purpose along with a sense of humor.

To simply call True/False a film fest does not totally do it justice as it also has an extensive programing that includes over 30 bands that perform through the course of the festival, field trips, campfire stories (really!) with film makers, stand-up comedy, breakfast, parades, folk and outsider art exhibitions, and celebration of “Buskers” (antiquated colloquialism for street-performers).

True/False features a whopping 40 feature films covering everything from artistic expression in the face of political oppression (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry), shocking horror (V/H/S), to charming looks into the psyches of nerds (Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope).  Special free screenings happen outdoors at the Great Wall, a wall outside a Methodist Church, that offers a unique viewing experience. There are also 20 short films and panel discussions which are free and open to the public that cover politicals, film making, technology, and more.

True/False also created the True Life Fund. Fesitval organizers state that "The True Life Fund demonstrates that documentaries can create change by offering tangible assistance to the real-life subjects of a new non-fiction film. And it acknowledges that documentary filmmakers and festivals thrive because of the stories given to us by people often of limited means."  

This year the True Life Fund focuses on Bully, which chronicles a year in the life of five kids and their families who courageously share their stories to inspire change in how society deals with bullying.  To assist the True Life Fund is the True Life Run marathon, in which participators can win prizes from local businesses and passes to next year’s festival.

Never before has a film festival had such a varied and wild assortment of programming.  True/False is a festival in the truest sense of the word.  Combining film, documentary, arts, and performance, True/False dares to do more than simply pander to big studios or pigeonhole itself.  True/False is a new breed of film festival that believes in re-invention.

To learn more, go to www.truefalse.org

True/False Film Festival
March 1-4, 2012

Columbia, Missouri