ISRAELI FILM FESTIVAL 2007

The Cathay Cineplex, Hall 5, 2 Handy Road
30 March (Friday) to 3 April (Tuesday)
Tickets at $10 each; Concession Tickets at $9 each for Students & Singapore Film Society Members
(upon presentation of valid identity)
Tickets available from 22 March 2007 at the following locations:
- Box Offices at The Cathay, 2 Handy Road
- Box Office Counter 1 at Cathay Cineplex Causeway Point
- Coke Red Lounge at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard Level 5
- http://tickets.cathay.com.sg


1. Opening Film
Someone To Run With

Year 2006
Genre Drama
Runtime 118 min
Language Hebrew with English subtitles
Rating NC16 - Drug References
Website http://www.someonetorunwith.com

Note Based on the novel by pop writer David Grossman
Producers Andrew Braunsberg, Philippa Kowarsky
Director Oded Davidoff
Cast Bar Belfer, Yonatan Bar Or, Yuval Mendelson, Rinat Matatov, Tzahi Grad

17 year-old Assaf has to track down Tamar, the owner of a lost Labrador and is drawn into her quest into Jerusalem's underworld, evolving into a story of courage, commitment, self-discovery and adulthood.

'Someone to Run with' captures the original’s unrelenting pace, suspense and heartfelt drama as it sends viewers on a riveting ride through the streets of Jerusalem at the end of a Labrador’s leash. Assaf, a shy, awkward 17 year-old, is yanked from his mundane summer job and given an impossible task: to track down the owner of a lost Labrador found wandering the city streets. As he follows the dog on its circuitous rounds, Assaf begins to piece together the incredible story behind the owner’s disappearance, a story that captures his imagination and draws him in: the story of a girl named Tamar. One month earlier, Tamar, a gifted musician, embarks with her dog on a desperate quest into Jerusalem’s seamy underworld, and becomes ensnared in its dark clutches. Assaf, smitten by the mysterious girl he has never met, has no choice but to set off running after Tamar’s footsteps. The film follows Assaf and Tamar on parallel timelines, highlighting the distance between them and the loneliness they must endure until their narratives finally converge. For the two, this will be an accelerated journey into adulthood, a test of courage and commitment, and a story of self-discovery and first love.



2.
Dear Mr. Waldman

Year 2005
Genre Drama
Runtime 90 min
Language Hebrew with English subtitles
Rating M18 – Sexual Scenes
Website http://www.dearmrwaldman.com
Director Hanan Peled
Cast Rami Heuberger, Jenya Dodina, Ido Port

10 yr old Hilik's purpose in life, to make his parents happy due to the loss they suffered in the Holocaust, is tested when his father sinks back into the past, believing his other son had escaped to America.

In the early sixties, Hilik, a ten years old boy who lives in Tel Aviv, knows he's got a goal in life - to make his parents happy and compensate for the grief and loss they had suffered in the holocaust. The balance in the fragile family has been breached when Moishe, Hilik's father, chooses to believe that his lost son, from his first marriage, didn't die in Auschwitz as he thought, and somehow escaped to America to become President Kennedy's assistant. As he has never really accepted the fact that he is the only survivor from his family, Moishe is sinking back to his past. Torn between his fear that his father would abandon him, and the wish to make him happy, Hilik chooses to test his father's love to him, while accepting the risk of losing him.


3.
Nina's Tragedies

Year 2003
Genre Drama
Runtime 106min
Language Hebrew with English subtitles
Rating M18 – Sexual Scenes and Coarse Language
Website http://www.filmfund.org.il/page.aspx?section=656&mode=movie&itemid=2216
Director Savi Gabizon
Cast Ayelet Zurer, Yoram Hattab, Anat Waxman, Along Abutbul, Aviv Elkabelh

Nadav learns about love, family and sexuality through his broken family and his aunt Nina.

Nadav, a 14 year-old boy, tells the story of his torn family: his parents divorce, his dying father, his wild and promiscuous mother and most of all, the story of his beautiful, wonderful and sexy aunt Nina. After the death of Chaimon – Nina’s husband, Nadav is asked to move in with her. For Nadav, who is totally obsessed with Nina, this is beautiful, period. Nadav helps Nina recover and feels like assuming the role of "the man" in her life. Nadav's "ideal" setting is shattered when a new man enters Nina's life. Hurt and betrayed, Nadav tries to fight for her heart until he gives up. In the process, he understands something new about love, family, sexuality and himself.



4.
Summer Story

Year 2003
Genre Drama
Runtime 90min
Language Hebrew with English subtitles
Rating NC16 – Some Nudity
Website http://www.filmfund.org.il/page.aspx?section=656&mode=movie&itemid=1663

Festivals Montpellier - 2004 - Panorama
Director Shmuel Haymovitz
Cast Moshe Folkenflik, Aya Koren, Albert Ailuz, Kosta Kaplan, Itamar Cohen

13 yr old Gal decides to go to Lebanon during the war to look for the soldier his friend Haya (who has a fatal disease) has fallen in love with.

The Summer Vacation, of 1982, The time of the Lebanon war. Gal a mischievous 13 Years old boy delivers the mail in his small agricultural village. His post route leads him to Haya, a 19 years old girl with a serious heart disease who finds comfort in writing and receiving letters from the soldiers fighting in Lebanon. A special relationship develops between the two. Haya's condition deteriorates and Gal out of care for her, decides to go to Lebanon and look for the one soldier Haya has fallen in love with.


5.
Things Behind The Sun

Year 2005
Genre Drama
Runtime 100min
Language Hebrew with English subtitles
Rating M18 – Some Mature Content
Website http://www.filmfund.org.il/page.aspx?section=656&mode=movie&itemid=1915
Director Yuval Shafferman
Cast Sandra Sade, Tali Sharon, Tes Hashiloni, Zohar Strauss, Asi Dayan

A look into the complex characters and lives of the Grossman family when the grandfather is hospitalised.

'Things behind the Sun' offers a glimpse into the Grossman's family life, each struggling to find love and intimacy while insisting on sealing themselves from each other. When Abraham, the Grossman family's grandfather is hospitalized in a grave manner, Itzhak, his only son, finds himself confronted with a father whom he hasn't spoken with in many years. Itzhak seems incapable of expressing his inner distress, even to his closest. Meanwhile, Smadi, Itzhak's wife, has her first gallery exhibition which exposes for the first time dark family secrets. Didush, the family youngest, is set to decipher each of her family members' riddles. By secretly visiting a grandfather, whom she has never met and constantly asking questions none of the Grossman's wishes to answer Didush will embark on a journey set to reach, touch and piece together those so close yet so detached from her, or even their own selves.