Top 5 Most Anticipated Israeli Films for 2011

Even though 2010 wasn’t considered a good year in Israeli cinema, as its presence on the international front was rather modest, it certainly wasn’t as bad that one might think, and by comparison, 2011 is looking at least as good, if not better: There are already two Israeli films that will be launched at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival, and just before that, Sundance’s World Dramatic Competition will include a title that I mention below. 2011 will mark the return of a few veterans, and (hopefully) the rise of a few new star filmmakers. Here are the 5 most anticipated projects on the Israeli side of the film world…:

#.5 The Slut – Hagar Ben Asher

This project is supposed to satisfy the thirst of people who prefer the more “arty” cinema. Ben Asher has been working on this since 2007, when her short film Pathways won awards in Cannes. This is supposed to be a sexually tensed film about a woman who is living in a kibbutz and is sleeping with mostly anyone. A new man shows up in her life, bringing with him the possibility of true love, but when their relationship will encounter a crisis, the woman will get back to her old ways, bringing tragedy along with her. Hagar Ben Asher’s short showed admiration for French director Bruno Dumont, both in the cinematography style and in the bluntness of the sexual representation. It seems that Ben Asher’s first feature will try to do the same.

#.4 Restoration – Yossi Madmoni

The first Israeli film of 2011 to be unveiled will be this one, showing in Sundance later this month. Madmoni is a long time collaborator of David Ofek, co-directing films (The Barbeque People, 2003) and TV series (Bat-Yam-New-York, Take Away). This film is Madmoni’s first solo flight, and it tells of an old furniture restorator (Sasson Gabai, The Band’s Visit) who is in conflict with his son who wishes to sell his father’s business for financial profit. Meanwhile, the restorator’s apprentice (Henry David, Rabies) get romatically involved with he restorator’s son’s pregnant wife (Sara Adler, Jellyfish). A strong cast promises a humble, yet powerful drama.

#.3 Dr. Pomeranz – Assi Dayan
64 year-old Assi Dayan is a mythological figure in Israel. The son of a (late) former secretary of defense, an extreme leftist, who was accused in domestic abuse and in drug abuse, and also been institutionalized a few times – but also an extraordinary actor and a sharp and fearless writer-director. To His credit there’s one of the most furious films in Israeli cinema history – Life according to Agfa (1992) (A scene from Agfa) – who is believed to predict the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin 3 years later by showing that the violence we should fear is not the one coming from the outside (meaning, the Palestinians) but the one that is coming from the inside (Prime minister Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish right wing extremist on Nov 4th, 1995). Since Agfa, Dayan made a few other films, including Mr. Baum (1997), but in the past decade he mostly concentrated in acting. His most famous part is the lead in the TV series In Treatment (a part Gabriel Byrne had in the HBO remake). His new film is basically a comedy, telling of a psychologist (what else) who finds an original way to make money: As he lives on the twelfth floor, he rents his flat to suicidal people (paid in advance, of course). The film’s producer was quoted saying that the film is “funny as it is deep”, and knowing Dayan’s controversial nature, it will probably make a lot of waves.

#.2 The Exchange – Eran Kolirin

Three years ago, Kolirin made a film that swept the world in a loving wave. The Band’s Visit created magic like no other, telling a story mixing tears and laughter, revealing an enormous talent who has an eye for visual nuances as well as for exquisite writing skills. The Band’s Visit‘s producer said in an interview that after that film everyone wooed Kolirin, and he received offers from Jodie Foster, and even the great French Catherine Deneuve has said she wishes to work with him, but Kolirin hasn’t lost his head, and went to direct an even smaller and more obscure film than his last one. The synopsis of the film doesn’t say much, but one has to count on Kolirin’s talent that the magic of The Band’s Visit will be back again.

#.1 Footnote – Joseph Cedar
Joseph Cedar first feature, Time of Favor (2000) was the first commercial success the Israel film industry produced in 4 years. It went on to win a number of awards at the Israeli Academy ceremony of that year (Including Best Picture), as is considered the one who put the foot in the door (through that door came later Late Marriage, Broken Wings, and many others). Campfire (2004), Cedar’s second feature, recreated the magic, winning both Israeli Academy Awards, and the hearts of local audiences. Cedar’s third feature, Beaufort (2007) went even further, and became an Oscar nominated film (the first Israeli to do so since the 80’s). This impressive track record makes his new film, Footnote, the most anticipated project of the year. Unlike his previous film, the new one looks like a humble drama, telling the story of two professors, father and son, competing with each other in a prestigious contest for an important national award. The film will star Lior Ashkenazi (Late Marriage) and Shlomo Bar Aba (see pic above) who received a lot of praise in 1988 for Fictitious Marriage, but since then appeared mostly in theater work).