Israel Film Series 5782

(All films are $8 per person and all films are in Hebrew with English subtitles)
 

Thursday, July 7, 7:30 PM

The Orchestra with the Broken Instruments 

From Broken to Whole: Harmony in a Discordant City

DocAviv International Film Festival, Israel, 2021

Unstrung ouds, valveless trumpets, pianos with sticky keys. One brilliant conductor, three gifted composers, and 100 musicians meet for four days of rehearsals. They speak different languages – Jewish, Muslim and Christian. Their instruments are broken. An orchestra of professional and amateur musicians, young and old, prepare, against all odds, for a one-time-only concert in Jerusalem. A poetic, engaging take on broken and whole presents Jerusalem characters and an attempt to create harmony in a discordant city. 

“The final performance is both wry and stirring, making this one of the finest music documentaries of the past year” – Boston Globe
 

Tuesday, July 12th, 7:30 PM

One More Story (Od Sipur Echad)  

A Wonderful Romantic Comedy – Israeli Style!

This charming and uniquely Israel rom-com focuses on Yarden Gat - a young, brilliant, quick-witted, ambitious journalist working on a famous newspaper, and she doesn’t believe in love.  But that doesn’t stop her from taking on a mission: to find true love for her best friend, a hopeless romantic, who is just as hopeless with women.

Starring an all-star cast, including Guri Alfi, Lior Ashkenazi, Dina Sanderson, Maayan Bloom, and Danielle Gal.

“With a great score, the film is a fun-filled ride as we share the journey of Yarden’s complicated dating history while waiting to discover if true love is to be found.”– Film Pittburgh

Tuesday, July 18th, 7:30 PM

Dead Sea Guardians 

The Power of Collaboration.  

Nominee – Best Documentary – Haifa International Film Festival - 2021

Can 3 heroic swimmers overcome many obstacles to help save a slowly but surely drying Dead Sea?

Three people - Oded, an Israeli entrepreneur and activist, Munqeth, a Jordanian environmental activist, and Yusuf, a Palestinian rescuer, join forces around their two common desires: swimming and saving the Dead Sea. Their common goal, from the moment they meet, is to hold a prominent event to draw public attention to the environmental disaster that is taking place right under our noses.  Tragically, the Dead Sea is drying up, causing widespread damage, including huge sinkholes, abandoned beaches and collapsing roads. 

They gather a group of open-water swimmers from all over the world to do something that has never been done before: cross the Dead Sea, from Jordan to Israel - a complex and dangerous task on every scale - from security coordination between countries, to the physical risk of prolonged stay in Dead Sea water.

The friendship between the trio is tricky, and the political realities and personal baggage that each one must deal with are explored.

Thursday, July 28, 7:30 PM

Yerusalem: The Incredible Story of Ethiopian Jewry 

A Life-altering Event of Biblical Proportions

A dramatic story with twisting plots, secret plans, covert operations and intense personal stories

This remarkable film, Yerusalem, brings to life the story of a long, dramatic and tumultuous journey as the Jewish Ethiopian community, also known as “Beta-Israel”, finally find their way back to the heart of the Jewish people after centuries – Jerusalem.

It’s an inspiring story of heroic acts and bold rescue missions. From their historic roots in Ethiopia, to the daring and dangerous clandestine operations that brought them to Israel, as well as their subsequent struggles to prove their Jewishness and fight for their legitimate place in Israeli society

The film deftly weaves together stories from first and second-generation immigrants, rabbis, activists, Mossad personnel, ship commanders, pilots, and other key decision-makers who risked their lives to bring Ethiopian Jews to their ancestral land.