Other Israel Film Fest 2015

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Saturday, 07 November 2015 20:54

Written by Renzo Adler

The Other Israel Film Festival is currently underway in New York City. Running from November 5th to 12th at the JCC Manhattan (334 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY ) and at Cinema Village (22 East 12th St, New York, NY), the festival explores Israeli society, culture, and controversy through documentary and narrative film.

Closing the festival and having its New York City premiere, is Woman in the Sink, directed by Iris Zaki:

“At “Fifi’s”, a hair salon in the heart of Haifa’s Arab community, Iris Zaki installs a mini film set over the washbasin. While she washes their hair, Zaki speaks candidly and freely with the salon’s Arab and Jewish clients, who share their views on politics, history, and love. What emerges from these conversations is an honest and nuanced portrait of contemporary Israel.”

Other films at the festival include:

• ARAB MOVIE
  Dir. Eyal Sagui Bizawe & Sara Tsifroni
  (60 min, Documentary, Israel, Hebrew & Arabic w/ English subtitles)
  A nostalgic look back at that old Friday afternoon ritual, when Israeli families of all backgrounds would gather to watch the week’s “Egyptian Movie” on Israel’s official TV station. Arab Movie takes us back to that fleeting moment when Israelis shared the same cultural heroes as everyone else in the Middle East, even as it raises disturbing questions about their relationship to their neighbors across the border.

• CENSORED VOICES
  East Coast Premiere
  Dir. Mor Lushi
  (84 min, Documentary, Israel, Hebrew & English w/ English subtitles)
  One week after the Six Day War, a group of soldiers, led by renowned author Amos Oz, recorded intimate conversations with fellow soldiers returning from war. In these recordings, the men wrestled with their fears, taking an honest look at the moment Israel turned occupier. These recordings, censored by the Israeli army until now, are played back to the men 50 years later, revealing their confessions for the first time.
  Censored Voices opens in theaters on November 20, via Music Box Films.

• COLLIDING DREAMS
  Dir. Oren Rudavsky & Joseph Dorman
  (135 min, Documentary, US, English, Hebrew, Arabic w/English subtitles)
  A feature-length exploration of one of the most influential, controversial, and urgently relevant political ideologies of the modern era. With origins in Europe in the late 19th century, Zionism was born out of the Jewish confrontation with modernity and persecution. Yet early on, Zionism faced opposition from Palestine’s Arab inhabitants, who saw it depriving them of their own national rights in a land they had inhabited for centuries. Now, amid unceasing religious conflict and tragic bloodshed, it is more crucial than ever for Americans to better understand the meaning, history and future of the movement.
  Colliding Dreams will open in New York at Lincoln Plaza in January 2016.

• DÉGRADÉ
  NEW YORK PREMIERE
  Dir. Tarzan & Arab Nasser
  83 min, Narrative, France / Palestine, Arabic w/English subtitles
  In this Cannes film festival favorite, we take a look into the lives of a diverse group of women visiting a beauty salon on a hot summer’s day in the Gaza Strip. A bride-to-be, a pregnant woman, a bitter divorcée, a devout woman and a pill-popping addict all meet for some leisure time and pampering. But all is disrupted when a gang war erupts between Hamas and a local group, right in front of the salon, trapping the woman and raising the temperature and anxiety. Starring Hiam Abbass, Maisa Abdelhadi, and Manal Award.

• JERUSALEM BOXING CLUB
  United States Premiere
  Dir. Helen Yanovsky
  (65 min, Documentary, Israel, Hebrew, Russian, & Arabic w/ English subtitles)
  The Jerusalem Boxing Club, which operates out of a bomb shelter in Jerusalem's Katamon neighborhood, is a meeting point for teens from all around the city. For many of these young people, the desire to excel and to win is nourished by the tough training and boundless love of Gershon Luxemburg, the club's manager and trainer, for whom boxing is not just another sport, but a way of life.
  
  

• JERUZALEM
  New York Premiere
  Dir. Doron & Yoav Paz
  (81 min, Narrative, Israel, English)
  A horror film that takes us to Jerusalem, where two vacationing American teenagers decide to follow a mysterious archaeologist to the Old City. Their party is cut short when Jerusalem’s ancient gate to hell is opened, releasing a biblical apocalypse. Trapped between the city’s walls, the three travelers must survive long enough to find a way out, as the fury of hell is unleashed upon them.

• MUSSA
  New York Premiere
  Dir. Anat Goren
  (65 min, Documentary, Israel, Hebrew, Amharic, Arabic, & English w/ English subtitles)
  A moving documentary that tells the story of Mussa, a 12-year-old African refugee living in one of Tel Aviv’s worst neighborhoods. Every day, Mussa is bussed to an upscale private school, where he silently navigates a privileged world, connecting with friends but refusing to speak. When Mussa’s mother is threatened with deportation, Mussa is left devastated, compelled to leave his father and friends behind.

• ORIENTED
  Dir. Jake Witzenfeld
  (81 min, Documentary, UK, Hebrew, Arabic, & English w/ English subtitles)
  The story of three gay Palestinian friends confronting their national and sexual identity in Tel Aviv. Khader is a “darling” from a prominent Muslim family living with David, his Jewish boyfriend. Fadi is an ardent Palestinian nationalist, in love with a Zionist. Naim yearns to confront his family with the truth about his sexuality. Determined to make a change, the three best friends form a group to fight for gender and national equality.

• PARTNER WITH THE ENEMY
  New York Premiere
  Dir. Duki Dror, Chen Shelach
  (56 min, Documentary, Israel, Hebrew, Arabic, & English w/ English subtitles)
  In the midst of an ever-fraught political landscape, two women, one Israeli and one Palestinian, attempt the seemingly impossible: to build a business together. Fighting against anti-normalization currents and a male-dominated industry, the two combine forces to create a logistics company which helps Palestinian businessmen navigate the Israeli occupation. But while they help their clients, the divisions between the two threaten to tear their partnership apart. Can the bond between them overcome the impossible?

To learn more, go to: http://otherisrael.org/

The Other Israel Film Festival
November 5 - 12, 2015

JCC Manhattan
334 Amsterdam Ave.
New York, NY 10023

Cinema Village
22 E 12th St.
New York, NY 10003

Hawaii International Film Fest Spans Pacific Cinema and the World

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Friday, 06 November 2015 03:08

Written by Renzo Adler

Seoul Searching

Comprised of films from Hawaii, across Asia, and representing Pacific Islanders, the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) has grown from it’s humble beginnings in 1981, to now feature over a hundred films and events from November 12 to the 22nd. Presented at theaters across Honolulu, the HIFF includes special segments focusing on films and filmmakers from Hawaii, Japan, China, Korea, India, and Europe along with shorts, documentaries, and the Eat Drink Film showcase focusing on films about food.

Opening the festival is the South Korean court drama, The Throne, directed by Joon-ik Lee. Set in 1762 during the Joseon dynasty, King Yeongjo (played by Kang-ho Song from Snowpiercer and The Host), must tangle with the dilemma of having to execute his son, Prince Sado, who has been accused of treason.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s (Tokyo Sonata, Cure) film, Journey to the Shore, is about Mizuki (Eri Fukatsu), who is greeted one day by her husband, Yusuke (Tadanobu Asano), who she thought was dead for the last three years. Yusuke takes Mizuki on a trip to help her understand where he has been these last three years. Present at the festival will be Asano, who will be presented with the Maverick award for his work in film (Ichi the Killer, Zatoichi, Survive Style 5+, and even Marvel's Thor).

As part of the Centerpiece section of the festival, the Todd Haynes (Mildred Pierce, Velvet Goldmine) film Carol is a drama set in 1950’s New York starring Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett engage in a tangled relationship that is threatened by jealousy.

The New American Filmmakers showcase highlights the work of foreign born directors and reflects the impact of immigrant cultures on the lingua-franca that is American cinema. Films include the Zoe Bell vehicle from New Zealand, Camino, the Indian film Margarita, With a Straw, and the Korean film, Seoul Searching.

To learn more, go to: http://www.hiff.org/

Hawaii International Film Festival
November 12 - 22, 2015

Various locations throughout Honolulu

13th Annual Korean Film Fest at Museum of the Moving Image

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

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Published on Monday, 02 November 2015 10:36

Written by Casey Hernandez

Assassination

The Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, New York, NY) is playing host to a series of Korea’s finest films with the 13th Annual Korean Film Festival (November 6 - 11, 2015). Organized by Subway Cinema, the same people that bring you the New York Asian Film Fest every summer, the NY Korean FF brings together some of Korea’s fascinating, strange, and dynamic films that have been captivating audiences in the US since Oldboy hit the scene in 2003. Along with a wide selection of films, the festival also has special guest speakers from the Korean film industry.

Guests include:

• Ryoo Seung-Wan
• Kang Hye-jung and Park Jung (Veteran)
• Shin Suwon (Madonna)
• Lee Do-yun (Confession)
• Kang Hyo-jin (Wonderful Nightmare)
• Oh Seung-uk (The Shameless)
• Hong Won-chan (Office)
• Koh Ah-Sung.

Films scheduled to be in the festival include:

• Office
  Dir. Hong Won-chan
  After gruesomely murdering his family, a midlevel manager (Bae Seong-woo) dutifully returns to the office, haunting the building like a vengeful ghost and turning the otherwise bland workspace into a house of terror. Legitimately alarmed, his colleagues nonetheless sing his praises to the police—a hint that there’s more to the matter than a disgruntled employee suddenly snapping. Described as “hearty genre entertainment” by Variety, this Cannes “Midnight Madness” selection is a perfect outlet for young leading actress Ko Ah-sung.

• Trap
  Dir. Bong Man-Dae
  Maladjusted screenwriter Jeong-min (Yoo Ha-joon) travels to the countryside to rethink his life and concentrate on his career. But instead of working on his screenwriting, he finds transgressive distraction in the person of temptress Yumi (Han Je-in). The frontier between reality and fantasy blurs as Jeong-min’s mind and body are engulfed in a fatal attraction to the innocent-faced but dangerous Lolita, leading him to increasingly poor life decisions. A standout entry in the filmography of softcore erotic meister “Playboy” Bong Man-Dae.

• Confession
  Dir. Lee Do-yun
  Since a tragic mountain incident in high school, Min-soo (Lee Kwang-soo), Hyun-tae (Ji Sung) and In-chul (Ju Ji-hoon) have remained best friends through thick and thin. But when two of them agree to burn down an illegal gambling hall for the insurance payout, the spilt blood of loved ones unearths the bitter ghosts of a dark past. Soon, the group of childhood friends turn on each other in the bleakest of fallouts. Lee Do-yun’s debut feature has been compared with the slow-burning noir of Sidney Lumet’s final film, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.

• The Shameless
  Dir. Oh Seung-uk
  In Oh Seung-uk’s highly anticipated return to the director’s chair since his debut masterpiece Kilimanjaro in 2000, Cannes award-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon plays a bar hostess in love with a suspected murderer. Kim Nam-gil (The Pirates) is outstanding as a detective who plays a game of seduction with a dangerous woman. Selected for the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival, The Shameless is an unforgettably stylish noir.

• Madonna
  Dir. Shin Su-won
  After her festival hit Pluto (2012), a critically acclaimed high-school drama about bullying and murder which won a Special Mention at the 2013 Berlinale, director Shin Su-won delivers a shocking, noir-tinged tale of privilege and poverty: a nurse's aide uncovers and tries to prevent the horrific use of a brain dead pregnant street-walker for a heart transplant to a rich patient.
  
  
  
• Veteran
  Dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
  In this instant action/comedy classic—a massive theatrical hit earlier this summer—hardboiled detective Seo Do-cheol (top actor Hwang Jung-min can throw—and take—a punch) and his misfit team defend the powerless against the vicious scion of a prominent family (played with villainous delight by heartthrob Yoo Ah-in, in a widely acclaimed performance.

• Wonderful Nightmare
  Dir. Kang Hyo-jin
  Director Kang Hyo-jin’s independent feature, Kill’em with Bare Hands (2004), won the audience award at the Seoul Independent Film Festival. His films include Dirty Blood (2012), Twilight Gangsters (2010), and Punch Lady (2007).

To learn more, go to: http://koreanfilmfestival.org/

The New York Korean Film Festival
November 6 - 11, 2015

The Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35th Ave.
New York, NY 11106