In his latest tour de force, Assi Dayan, Israeli cinema’s enfant terrible, seeks to push Israel’s Ashkenazi elite into its grave, literally and figuratively. Produced on a budget of just NIS 1 million (roughly $250,000), “Dr. Pomerantz” premiered last year at the Haifa International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Screenplay at September’s Ophir…
For Israeli filmmakers the most wonderful time of the year is almost here. No, it’s not Hanukka or even Christmas — it’s the Ophir awards. Recently the Israeli Academy of Film and Television announced its nominations for the 2012 awards, which will be distributed at a ceremony in September. Modeled after Hollywood’s Oscars, the Ophir…
Painting can be a lot like playing music. Just as a jazz musician riffs on a standard, so too a painter can create a scene on canvas that evokes familiarity but still contains creative flourishes and emotional depth. That’s the notion behind Israeli artist Ishay Rossano’s latest series of paintings, first displayed in a solo…
Photo by Ronen Goldman Finding my way through the cavern-like passages of Jaffa’s old city to the appropriately named Alleyway Theater (“Teatron Hasimta”) was an apt beginning to an evening of music with Israeli gypsy jazz trio Swing de Gitanes. On an intimate red-lit stage surrounded by bare, black walls Oren Sagi (double-bass), Yacov Hoter…
Once in a blue moon you get the chance to see a real talent in the making. That was my main thought after seeing first-time director-screenwriter Guy Yeroslavsky’s new TV pilot, “Forced Landing,” last October at the Haifa International Film Festival. Luckily, Israeli viewers may soon have a full-season of “Forced Landing” in store for…
“Testimony” is the rare movie that contains all the building blocks of an aesthetically powerful political statement, only to fall short in its execution. Put plainly, “Testimony” — which recently screened at the Haifa International Film Festival and the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival — amounts to a good deal less than the sum…
Thanksgiving is often considered the most American of holidays, perhaps second only to the Fourth of July. Nothing speaks more to American culture and values than celebrating the religious tolerance generations of immigrants sought on U.S. shores, or the creation of a land of plenty, by eating helping after helping of turkey, stuffing and cranberry…
Did you hear the joke about the Arab who volunteered for the IDF? He was so patriotic that the Beitar Jerusalem fans in the Border Police were impressed. They even considered visiting his family’s home in Sakhnin. Well almost, anyway. Except it’s not a joke, it’s a documentary. Recently screened at the Jerusalem International Film…
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