Join us on the evening of THURSDAY | MAY 5, 2011 for our 25th Anniversary:
Opening Night Gala & VIP Reception at the renowned Plaza Hotel followed by an Awards Presentation & Premiere of INTIMATE GRAMMAR at The Paris Theatre, honoring:

Stanley Donen
2011 IFF Lifetime Achievement Award
& Liev Schreiber
2011 IFF Achievement in Film Award
&
Micha Shagrir
2011 IFF Cinematic Achievement Award
______________________________________
Download an invitation here or call IsraFest Foundation at 877-966-5566 for more information.

1960’s - A new generation is growing up in Israel, a militant one that will not go through another Holocaust. But Aharon, doesn't fit the mold. His soul seeks refinement and art, which he can't find at home. How could he? For his father, a Holocaust survivor, human existence is reduced to war and survival. Aharon refuses to become like his parents. Realizing that his is responsible for his own maturation, he embarks on a dangerous inner journey crossing the boundary between childhood and adolescence.

Conflict arises between two brothers, reflective of a society torn between its religious and political principles, and stirs the debate between separation of the state and religion in Israel.

Set in 1968, an Israeli born teenage boy gets a summer job with a mysterious matchmaker who takes him on a dangerous coming of age ride into the deepest and darkest urban underbelly of the Six Day War Haifa.

In an adaptation of one of Israeli literature's most celebrated novels by author Yehoshua Kenaz, this multi-character look at a platoon of aspiring Israeli soldiers in 1956 offers a series of vignettes designed to show the challenges of creating a homogenous society from so many disparate pieces. Everything from Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket to Oliver Stone's Platoon gets referenced in Kosashvili's entertaining, thought-provoking tale.

Zohi Sdom recounts the story of the birth of the Jewish people and the advent of monotheism on the backdrop of the last week in history of the infamous city of Sodom, the entertainment, gambling, sex and corruption capital of biblical times.

A romantic comedy with music and salsa dancing! Vicki is a single mom and a Mexican salsa dancer. After months of unemployment in Mexico, she goes to Israel to work there, and on the plane she meets Yoni. Vicki and Yoni are from completely different worlds – almost everything divides them: religion, culture and social class. Despite everything, they slowly fall in love filled with passion, jealousy, misunderstandings and comical situations, until the surprise ending.

A sensitive coming-of-age drama set in a gritty working-class neighborhood of Haifa. Fourteen-year-old Zion and cocky older brother Meir live with their divorced mother in a dumpy apartment, and can count only on each other. After a tragic accident involving a neighborhood Ethiopian boy, the brothers are challenged by thorny questions of personal responsibility and morality.

In a city where everything is possible, a guy and a girl look for the impossible — a parking space! The search for the parking space makes them “victims” of the situation they find themselves in which becomes an evening road-trip with various characters and surprising events – a trip in which they must face each other (and confront themselves) as an absurd situation unfolds.

Fania and her baby daughter, uncle and brother escape the pogroms of late 19th century Russia and become part of the first wave of immigrants to Palestine. Penniless, Fania reluctantly agrees to marry the dashing and despondent Yechiel, a widower with two young children. She follows him to a hard pioneer life of struggle and sexual tension in his village near Safed. Based on the classic novel by Shulamit Lapid, this visually arresting saga interweaves their story with the historical narrative of rebuilding the land of Israel.

Combining material that is both documentary and fictional, we see a director’s struggle to restore Israeli public broadcasting to its rightful owner—the public. We see Doron Tsabari and Ori Inbar during seven years of tenacious struggle against corruption, deterioration, and inflexibility. Together with their supporters, they embark on a journey into the world of Israeli politics and discover how decisions are made in the public administration, the government, and the Knesset.

Two runaways with a secret find temporary refuge in a deserted nature reserve. When the sister falls into a hunting trap, set by a psychotic killer, the brother sets out on a race against time to rescue her. A forest ranger and his old dog, two apathetic cops, four tennis players and a murderer, wandering carefree amongst his traps, will all be gradually drawn into a whirlwind of misunderstandings, fears and violence.

Two Egyptian soldiers are stranded in the Sinai desert at the end of the Six Day War in 1967. This compelling and comical saga follows these soldiers' attempts to survive. Their journey together emphasizes human solidarity on the one hand and the irony of their situation on the other. An intelligent and artistic satire on the absurdity of war.

Special Festival guest Micha Shagrir will host this unique program. From the first camera that rolled in Jerusalem to present day we get a window into special moments that reflect the complexity of life in Jerusalem over the past 100 years and the on-going Israeli-Palestinian conflict that resides in one of the most holy cities in the world. Memorable moments are captured through a variety of short films that offer an educational and historic perspective of this legendary city.

A French boy is left to fend for himself after the Nazi occupation of Paris leaves him motherless. Layer by layer, the past and present of David Bergman unfold into a dramatic story of longing and strength. Bergman travels with filmmaker Micha Shagrir in this starkly intimate film, showing an unshakable and unforgettable emotional tenderness.

From 1983-1985 thousands of Falasha Jews marched nearly 200 kilometers from Gondar in Ethiopia to the Sudanese border, hoping to reach Israel. In November 2009, a camera-crew followed a group of eight Israelis for eleven arduous walking days. Three of these were Ethiopian Jews who had marched 25 years earlier. The film is dedicated to those who did not survive the journey.

An engaging and intimate portrait of the acclaimed Israeli iconoclastic and internationally celebrated author Amos Oz, nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The film traces Oz’s childhood, his adolescence on a kibbutz where he met his wife (the sole editor of his works), and his family tragedies including his mother’s suicide.

This breathtaking film introduces an Israel of amazing landscapes and multitudes of plants and wildlife. Israel is located at the meeting point of three continents. Perfect for family viewing, the film follows three mammals as the seasons change. Each opens a window to a world filled with amazing beauty, and which is guided only by the urge for survival. The film was produced in association with Israel Nature and National Parks.

Teacher Irena tells of...teacher Irena, an extremely charismatic woman, who has only one thing in her life - an enormous amount of love for the children. A single parent, all she ever does, inside the school, and outside of school hours, is take care of the kids, coming from different backgrounds, and different social status. A moving film about an extraordinary woman.

Lieutenant General David Elazar’s (Dado) youngest son launches a personal investigation into the life of this legendary military genius. Yair Elazar meticulously compiles archival footage, interviews with friends and colleagues, and his own ambivalent memories into a biography of the real Dado. In the making of this documentary, Yair works to restore his father’s reputation and place in Israeli history, while reclaiming his own place in his father’s life.

In the heart of Tel Aviv, there is an exceptional school where children from 48 different countries and diverse backgrounds come together to learn. Many of the students arrive at Bialik-Rogozin in the wake of poverty, political adversity and even genocide. This moving documentary chronicles the work of the amazing teachers, and pupils, where no child is a stranger.

Q&A with Directors Karen Goodman & Kirk Simon on Saturday, May 14 & Tuesday, May 17

This powerful story depicts the quagmire faced by Israelis and Palestinians alike. Mohammad, a Palestinian baby with an immunity disorder is brought to a hospital in Tel Aviv—medical facilities being what the director describes as the “only bridge left” between people living on either side of the checkpoints—but their quest to save the child is imperiled by a host of factors.

15-year-old Ayala is a free spirit. When she returns home from boarding school for the Passover Holiday, Ayala is surprised to find that her mother has a new boyfriend who acts like a surrogate father to Ayala's little sister Tutti and makes himself quite at home. While obsessively cleaning the house for the holiday, mother and daughter's relationship reach a boiling point.

Grisha has almost given up on his dream of opening a restaurant. When a rich uncle leaves all his money to his beloved nephew to open a restaurant, there's a catch. A sworn Communist all his life, the Uncle decrees that the restaurant must be dedicated to the sacred values of Communism. What is important here is the dream; ideology is a distant second.

For our 25th Anniversary festival in New York, we are pleased to spotlight five Student Shorts: