News & Updates: 35th Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles unveils hybrid in-person and online screening line-up
The 35th Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles, the largest showcase of Israeli cinema and television in North America, unspools this year both in theaters and virtually from May 5th – 26th. The Festival’s Opening Night film on May 5th is director Avi Nesher’s critically acclaimed “Image of Victory,” nominated for 15 Ophir Awards; the evening also serves to celebrate Israel’s Independence Day.
With leading Israeli filmmakers and talent in attendance for post screening Q&As, this year’s Festival will include five U.S. Premieres, six West Coast Premieres and 14 Los Angeles Premieres among the 30 award-winning features, documentaries and short films, announced Meir Fenigstein, founder and executive director of the Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles.
“I’m thrilled that the Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles is fully back for audiences to celebrate and support Israeli movies and their talented filmmakers. We hope that this 35th edition will be a new, exciting beginning towards continuing to bring the very best of Israeli culture to Los Angeles,” noted Fenigstein.
Among the highlights for this year’s 35th Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles are:
“Berenshtein” – In this exciting journey into the depths of the soul, the last surviving member of the great partisans who located Hitler’s secret weapon, the V2 missile development facility, revisits his past as a soldier in World War II. By diving into his traumatic memories, he is forced to grapple with the dissociation and loss of identity that ensued after the war. Despite this adversity, it becomes clear that he is able to stay true to his values through it all. Based on the true story of Leonid Berenshtein.
“Cinema Sabaya” – This film follows nine women, Arab and Jewish, who take part in a video workshop hosted by a young film director who teaches them how to document their lives. With each raw homemade footage shot by the women and shared with the others, the group dynamic forces them to challenge their views and beliefs as they get to know each other and themselves better.
“Greener Pastures” – In this hilarious story, a cranky, a retired widower who is low on money and begrudgingly resides in a nursing home, learns that many of his fellow nursing home residents are users of medical marijuana. He soon embarks on a new business venture as a cannabis dealer. When his enterprise attracts the attention of both the police and a local street gang, he must decide whether he is willing to risk everything for what really matters most to him.
