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Film Festivals
Other Israel in Film
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Friday, 04 November 2011 05:00
- Written by Lynne Shannon
The 5th Annual Other Israel Film Festival screens November 10 - 17, 2011 at the JCC in
Manhattan, New York City.
The Other Israel Film Festival presents films and panels about the history, culture and identity of Arab and other minority populations in Israel.
The Opening Night film is the New York premiere of the documentary Dolphin Boy, directed by Dani Menkin and Yonatan Nir. The film relates the saga of an Arab teenager from the North of Israel who, following brutal torture by classmates, suffered such severe PTSD that his last hope of recovery turned out to be dolphin-assisted therapy. The filmmakers will be present for Q&A.
The Closing Night film is My Lovely Sister, directed by Marco Carmel, starring Moshe Ivgy, Evelin HaGoel, Reymonde Amsellem. Based on a Jewish Moroccan folktale, the film is about rivalry between two sisters, one of whom has married an Arab man.
Some of the other films are:
Homecoming
dir. Orna Ben Dor, Noa Maiman
This documentary follows three non-Jewish Israeli teens who were born in Israel to foreign workers -- from the Congo, Peru and the Philippines. The film deals with the politics of immigration and culture in another venue.
Naomi (Hitpartzut X)
dir. Eitan Tzur 
This thriller is about a 58-year-old Astrophysics professor who is obsessed with this young wife. He discovers and confronts his wife‛s lover -- and takes action.
The Human Turbine
dir. Danny Verete
In a Palestinian village in the Hebron Mountains surrounded by Jewish settlements, residents of both neighborhoods group together to develop their own wind and solar energy to provide electricity for the caves and tents the villagers call home.
Special Events:
The Festival joins with New York University‛s Taub Center for Israel Studies for a special presentation of the film 77 Steps, directed by Ibtisam Mara’ana. In this film, the director shares her experiences of discrimination as she attempted to find an apartment in Tel Aviv after leaving her Arab-Muslim village.
The screening will be followed by panel discussion of the recently published book Israel’s Palestinians: The Conflict Within with the co-authors Ilan Peleg and Dov Waxman, along with the director and other participants.
Under One Tent: Arab Participation in Recent Social Uprising in Israel – The panel discussion includes:
- Dov Waxman, author
- Noa Maiman, filmmaker/political activist
- Tamar Zandberg, Tel Aviv City Council Member
- Ibtisam Mara'ana, filmmaker
Palestinian Cinema in Israel – A conversation between filmmaker Mohammad Bakri and author Prof. Ella Shohat, whose groundbreaking Israeli Cinema: East/West and the Politics of Representation was recently re-published in a new edition.
Other Israel SpeakEasy Café – A steady stream of intimate conversations and in-depth discussions with filmmakers, scholars and experts, including:
- Eitan Tzur, director of Naomi (Hitpartzut X)
- Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Ester Gould, directors of Shout
- Sigal Emanuel, director of A Place of Her Own
- Yehuda Bitton, producer of The Human Turbine
- Ronit Kertsner, director of Torn
- Peter Kosminsky, director of The Promise
Other Israel for the Whole Family – Two presentations for adults and children alike are:
Storytelling – Snow in Jerusalem by Deborah Da Costa, a book about two boys who live in Jerusalem’s Old City and care for a beautiful stray cat -- without knowing it‛s the same cat.
Screening – The family film David & Kamal, directed by Kikuo Kawasaki. Kamal, an Arab Jerusalemite and David, an American Jew, are 9-year-old boys who meet in Jerusalem's Old City where Kamal is "dodging bullies and trying to sell postcards". They become friends as they go through unexpected adventures together.
Says founder Carole Zabar, "Through these films, the festival aims to present the lives, dreams and strengths of the Arab minority and to show their participation in Israeli life.
"Growing up in a democratic Jewish state has without any doubt shaped the cultural and national identity of all of its inhabitants and citizens -- who know no other home. These films and artistic expressions are paving the way to co-existence and a new, more inclusive culture in the Middle East."
For more information, visit www.otherisrael.org.
The Jewish Community Center (JCC)
The Samuel Priest Rose Building
334 Amsterdam Avenue at W 76th Street
New York City
646-505-5708
www.jccmanhattan.org
Napa Valley Fest: Film, Food & Wine
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Tuesday, 01 November 2011 05:00
- Written by L E Shannon
The inaugural Napa Valley Film Festival (NVFF) is being held November 9 - 
13, 2011 at numerous venues in the Napa Valley communities of Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga, California.
The Napa Valley Film Festival is produced by Cinema Napa Valley, a registered 501c3 non-profit organization headquartered in Napa, California. The co-chairs, Brenda and Marc Lhormer, ran the successful Sonoma Valley Film Festival from 2001 through 2008.
Silver Screen, Silver Jubilee: AFI FEST
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Saturday, 29 October 2011 05:00
- Written by Lynne Shannon
The 25th edition of American Film Institute‛s AFI FEST 2011 presented by Audi runs 
November 3 - 10, 2011 at the historic Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California.
The American Film Market (AFM), running November 2–9, 2011, is the market partner of AFI FEST, taking place at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, the Fairmont and Le Merigot Hotels in Santa Monica. Since 2004, this "strategic partnership has grown into the largest gathering of film professionals in North America."
This year the Fest‛s Guest Artistic Director is Pedro Almodóvar. His own film Law of Desire will be screening at An Evening with Pedro Almodóvar, and he will be joined by Antonio Banderas, who starred in the film.
Almodóvar says that Law of Desire is "a fundamental title in my career. Even though we made it on a very modest budget, I don’t think I’d change a single shot, and not because it’s perfect but because I recognize myself in all of them...
"It’s true that my palette has darkened and, in the case of the latest film [The Skin I Live In], the humor has almost disappeared. Fortunately I’ve changed sufficiently so that no one can accuse me of repeating myself, but I’m still the same. Law of Desire shows that."
As Guest Artistic Director, Almodóvar‛s selections are classic horror films and thrillers:
- Eyes Without a Face, dir. Georges Franju (1960)
- Le Cercle Rouge, dir. Jean-Pierre Melville (1970)
- Nightmare Alley, dir. Edmund Goulding (1947)
- The Killers, dir. Robert Siodmak (1946)
The Opening Night film is the World Premiere of Clint Eastwood‛s latest, eagerly awaited film, J. Edgar. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover, with Naomi Watts, Armie Hammer and Judi Dench, the film explores the life of the controversial and powerful founder/director of the FBI.
"Clint Eastwood is an American icon -- one whose work as a director, actor, producer and composer not only stands the test of time, but also continues to add new, rich chapters with each passing year," said Bob Gazzale, President and CEO of the American Film Institute.
"What a gift it is to be going to the movies when Clint Eastwood is making them, and what an honor it is for the American Film Institute to premiere his latest contribution to America's cultural legacy."
The Centerpiece Gala films are:
- The Lady, dir. Luc Besson
- The Artist, dir. Michel Hazanavicius
- Carnage, dir. Roman Polanski
- My Week with Marilyn, dir. Simon Curtis
- Shame, dir. Steve McQueen
It is now LA‛s turn to view some of the most highly acclaimed films in the festival circuit this year:
- Coriolanus, dir. Ralph Fiennes
- Into the Abyss, dir. Werner Herzog
- Jeff, Who Lives at Home, dir. Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
- We Need to Talk about Kevin, dir. Lynne Ramsay
- Melancholia, dir. Lars von Trier
- Rampart, dir. Oren Moverman
- I Melt with You, dir. Mark Pellington
- The Kid with a Bike, dir. Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
- Miss Bala, dir. Gerardo Naranjo, AFI Conservatory Class of 2001 (Mexico’s Foreign Language Oscar submission)
- Pina, dir. Wim Wenders (Germany’s Foreign Language Oscar submission)
Some of the other films are:
The Color Wheel
directed by Alex Ross Perry
starring Carlen Altman, Bob Byington, Kate Lyn Sheil, Anna Bak-Kvapil, Ry Russo-Young
A brother and sister who have never gotten along are forced back on each other when their partners break up with them, friends turn out to not be friends, and there is no one else either of them can go to.
Green
directed by Sophia Takal
Kate Lyn Sheil, Lawrence Michael Levine, Louis Cancelmi, Alex Ross Perry, Robert Malone
An intimate friendship between two women is blown apart by rivalry over men.
Bonsái
directed by Cristián Jiménez (Chile)
starring Diego Noguera, Natalia Galgani, Gabriela Arancibia, Trinidad González, Hugo Medina
A struggling writer dupes his girlfriend into thinking he has a transcribing job when he is actually writing his own novel. When he tries to use a past relationship in his novel, he finds himself drawn back to the girl he used to be involved with.
Attenberg
directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece)
starring Ariane Labed, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelia Randou, Yorgos Lanthimos
"While preparing for her father’s impending death, a young woman discovers her own sexuality through lessons from her only friend and a visiting engineer."
From the widely touted to the newly discovered, these films would make up a bounty of cinematic riches no matter what city the Festival is in.
For more information, go to www.afi.com/afifest.
AFI FEST 2011 presented by Audi
November 3 - 10, 2011
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028
The Chinese 6 Theatres
6801 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028
Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
7000 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028
DOC NYC - Largest Doc Fest
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 05:00
- Written by L E Shannon
The second DOC NYC is screening November 2 - 10, 2011 at IFC Center in Greenwich 
Village, New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts and NYU's Kimmel Center in Manhattan, New York City.
DOC NYC, New York’s Documentary Festival, is regarded as "the largest festival of its kind ever held in New York". Now, as never before, documentaries are proliferating and more readily available. DOC NYC "celebrates this cultural phenomenon and encourages its new directions."
