Film Festival Facts
Dror Moreh, director of The academy award nominated documentary The Gatekeepers; actress and singer Sivan Levy, who stars in Inch’Allah, Six Acts, and A Bottle in the Gaza Sea; and Hollywood rom com and documentary producer, Howard Rosenman are confirmed as guests of the 2013 AICE Israeli Film Festival, as it celebrates its tenth year with possibly its strongest program to date.
From Oscar-nominated documentaries to award-winning features, from challenging dramas to crowd-pleasing comedies, the AICE Israeli Film Festival presents the best of Israeli film to Australian audiences. And, with the inclusion of a third venue in Melbourne and the addition of Canberra and Byron Bay, it is the only Australia-wide showcase for Israeli film.
“We are delighted to welcome, Dror Moreh, the director of the extraordinary and controversial The Gatekeepers”, said Festival co curator Keith Lawrence. “Sivan Levy is one of the leading new generation of Israeli actors and Howard Rosenman has much to tell about his successes in Hollywood. Each of these guests are outstanding in their fields and will offer extra insights into the films they are accompanying.”
The 20 feature films screening at the AICE Israeli Film Festival include social and political commentaries; tales of love, loss and redemption; stories of history, friendship and unlikely alliances: they explore the myriad of stories emerging from one of the most diverse and multi-racial countries in the world. Many are shaped by politics; many are personal, but overwhelmingly they celebrate the stories of people’s lives.
Keith Lawrence said, “The festival continues to highlight not only the breadth and strength of the Israeli film industry, but also presents the broad spectrum of Israeli society and everyday issues. A common thread in many of the films this year is the concerns of young adults – social, sexual and political – whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim.”
Inch’Allah
Youth
Highlights of this year’s festival include opening night film, The Ballad of The Weeping Spring (dir. Beni Torati), described as an Israeli ‘Magnificent Seven’ and featuring spellbinding music from the region; Zaytoun (dir. Eran Riklis), a touching drama about a friendship between a Palestinian orphan and a captured Israeli fighter pilot starring Stephen Dorff; Six Acts (dir. Johnathan Gurfinkel, starring Sivan Levy), an edgy and perceptive portrait of an Israeli teen girl, recently touted as one of the best films in the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival; Youth, a wry, commentary on Israeli society, the constant presence of weapons and the decline of the middle classes, told through the lives of two brothers, and Inch’Allah (dir. Anais Barbeau-Lavalette, starring Sivan Levy) , about a Canadian obstetrician working in a makeshift clinic in a Palestinian refugee camp and her friendship with a young soldier. Closing the festival is Otto Preminger’s ‘dazzling’ (NY Times) 1960 feature, Exodus, starring Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint and Ralph Richardson.
Stand out documentaries include the critically lauded, award-winning The Gatekeepers (dir. Dror Moreh), scheduled for release by Madman Films on September 5, (nominated for Best Documentary at the 2013 Academy Awards, and winner of Best Documentary LA Film Critics, and Cinema for Peace Award in Berlin) featuring interviews with all surviving former heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security agency whose activities and membership are normally closely held state secrets; Israel: A Home Movie (dir. Eliav Lilti), which weaves together stunning home movie footage from the early years of Israel up until the late 70s offering a critical look at the history of the Jewish state; and Good Garbage (dir. Ada Ushpiz, Shosh Shlam), which documents the lives of the 200 Palestinian families in the Palestinian village of Yatta who eke out a living from the garbage dump in the Hebron Hills which serves local Israeli settlements.
Slower than a Heartbeat
The AICE Israeli Film Festival is delighted to present the following Q&As:
Melbourne Q&As
Q&As with Dror Moreh, director of THE GATEKEEPERS
Palace Cinema Como – Thursday 15 August, 6.30pm screening followed by Q&A
Q&As with Sivan Levy (actress – SIX ACTS and INCH’ALLAH)
Palace Brighton Bay – Saturday 17 August, 9.00pm screening of INCH’ALLAH, followed by Q&A
Palace Cinema Como – Sunday 18 August, 1.15pm screening of SIX ACTS, followed by Q&A and then a by a live performance in the cinema foyer with Levy and guitarist Yoav Rosenthal and a glass of wine courtesy of Devil’s Corner.
Q&A with Howard Rosenman (Producer)
Palace Cinema Como – Monday 19 August, 6.30pm screening of ZAYTOUN, followed by Q&A.
Palace Brighton Bay – Saturday 17th August, 9pm, screening of Inch’Alla followed by Q&A with Sivan Levy.
Sydney Q&As
Q&As with Dror Moreh, director of THE GATEKEEPERS
Sydney:
Palace Verona – Wednesday 14 August, 6.30pm screening followed by Q&A
Q&As with Sivan Levy (actress – SIX ACTS and INCH’ALLAH)
Sydney:
Palace Verona – Thursday 15 August, 6.30pm screening of SIX ACTS, followed by Q&A and then a by a live performance in the cinema foyer with Levy and guitarist Yoav Rosenthal and a glass of wine courtesy of Devil’s Corner.
Palace Verona – Tuesday 20 August, 6.30pm screening of INCH’ALLAH, followed by Q&A
Canberra Q&As
Q&As with Dror Moreh, director of THE GATEKEEPERS
Canberra:
Palace Electric – Friday 16 August, 6.30pm screening followed by Q&A
Q&As with Sivan Levy (actress – SIX ACTS and INCH’ALLAH)
Canberra:
Palace Electric – Monday 19 August, 6.30pm screening of SIX ACTS, followed by Q&A and then a by a live performance in the cinema foyer with Levy and guitarist Yoav Rosenthal and a glass of wine courtesy of Devil’s Corner.
