Israeli-Palestinian Interest

Avanti Popolo

In this compelling and comical saga, two Egyptian soldiers are stranded in the Sinai Desert at the end of the Six-Day War in 1967. Their journey in search of safety and precious water is a testament to human solidarity and the absurdity of war. Exquisitely restored for the film’s 30th anniversary, Avanti Popolo has long been regarded as one of the most important films in the history of Israeli cinema.

Ben-Gurion: Epilogue

Featuring never-before-aired footage from a 1968 interview with Israel’s founding prime minister, filmmaker Yariv Mozer (Snails in the Rain, SFJFF 2014) pays homage to one of the icons of Israel’s first generation of political leaders. The resulting film begs the question, what would Ben-Gurion do?, given the current political climate in the Middle East. Viewers can hazard a guess when Ben-Gurion discusses trading land for an enduring peace.

The 90 Minute War

In this sharp-edged political mockumentary, a century of intractable conflict between Israel and Palestine is going to be settled once and for all . . . on the soccer field. The region’s leaders, in a desperate attempt, have agreed that one 90-minute match will determine the fate of two peoples: Winner gets to stay, loser goes away. Moshe Ivgy and Norman Issa (Arab Labor) star in a dark satire that scores some serious points.

Death in the Terminal

This gripping, Rashomon-style documentary is devoted to unpacking what happened in the span of 18 fateful minutes on October 18, 2015, when gunfire erupted at the Beersheba bus terminal. Winner of numerous awards in both Israel and Europe, it is both an absorbing film as well as a trenchant reminder that in moments of anger and panic the truth can be obscured by fury and fear.

Harmonia

Writer/director Ori Sivan’s elegant, understated backstage musical drama is a modern-day adaptation of the Book of Genesis. Sarah is a talented harpist performing in the Jerusalem orchestra of her conductor and husband, the obsessed, Abraham (Alon Aboutboul). Into their childless marriage enters the enigmatic Hagar, a Palestinian horn player who offers to provide the Israeli couple with a child. The film’s finale is an unforgettable and emotional call for harmony between Arabs and Jews.

Home Port

After 30 years at sea, veteran seaman Aharon drops anchor in his old hometown to head up the Marine Department at Ashdod Port. Principled Aharon immediately butts heads with the port strongman, Azulay, a respected but unscrupulous local who defends the surly and lazy tugboat crew. As the battle escalates, it threatens Aharon’s safety and loved ones, and he must weigh the importance of his standards against questions of loyalty, love, and family.

In Between

Sex, drugs, techno, and . . . Arab traditions? What sounds like an unlikely combination exerts a strong emotional attraction in this female dramedy about friendship, love and the search for independence by three young, hip, Palestinian women. When the Muslim—and religious—Nour moves in with hard-partying Laila and Salma, all three begin their own journeys of self-discovery and gain an understanding of the male-dominated society in which they live but refuse to reconcile themselves to.

Levinsky Park

Over the past five years, tens of thousands of refugees from sub-Saharan Africa have sought relief and safety in Israel only to find a society bitterly divided on how to treat them. Filmmaker Beth Toni Kruvant examines Israel’s moral obligation to extend aid and comfort to the refugees and the role that race and religion play in the willingness of a community to accept them in their midst.

Personal Affairs

In this dry, bitingly funny satire set in Nazareth, Ramallah and Sweden, a long-married Palestinian couple communicates through an elaborate series of mutually inflicted micro-aggressions. An official selection for the Cannes Film Festival, writer/director Maha Haj’s deftly insightful debut is both a timeless portrait of domestic discontent as well as a thoroughly contemporary and droll look at the bemusing indignities of border checkpoints, communications technology and impulsive romance.

A Quiet Heart

In this tense, slow-burning thriller, a young woman finds herself on the dividing line between secular and religious life in Israel while confronting her uncertain future as a promising pianist. Naomi leaves her home in Tel Aviv for a new job in the Haredi neighborhood of Kiryat Yovel. The neighborhood is increasingly hostile to her for being secular, and things only get stranger when she develops a close friendship with a Catholic monk.

Your Honor

It’s no wonder this thriller has been optioned for an American remake; this television series is reminiscent of HBO’S The Night After in its gripping portrayal of upstanding citizens ensnared in Israeli’s underworld. A judge’s son is involved in a hit-and-run accident unwittingly killing the son of a notorious crime family. As the plot unfolds, the title, Your Honor, takes on a double meaning, as the judge discovers how far he’ll go to shield his son.

SFJFF 2017 has been transferred to the JFI Film Archive