Berlinale 2011: Jonathan Segal’s Lipstikka

The first Golden Bear competing titles for the upcoming Berlin Film Festival were announced today, and among the 8, we find the Israeli film Lipstikka by director Jonathan Segal.

Segal was a successful actor, a part of a trio who stared in Lemon Popsicle, an enormously successful comedy about the sexual experiences of teenagers that had 6 (!) sequels in the 1980’s. In the 90’s Segal turned to directing, and his first feature, Kesher-Ir (Urban Feel) screened in Berlin in 1999. His new feature caused controversy while it was in production last year. The controversy was so massive, that even the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) had a meeting concerning Lipstikka.

The film tells the story of two Palestinian girls who sneak to the Jewish part of Jerusalem in 1993 to go to the cinema and see a film staring their idol, Mel Gibson. A brief encounter with Israeli soldiers turns into a romantic game with fatal consequences. 15 years later, the two women are living in London, sharing a friendship that is based on a terrible secret.

While the production was getting ready to shoot in London, someone wrote a memo saying that the film is comparing the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories to the way Nazis behaved in the 1930-40’s. That someone was laid off, but the memo was leaked to the press, and all hell broke loose. The Israeli film fund (a national fund, not a private one) was in the crossfire, supposedly supporting a film that was slandering Israel as a state. Funds were held back until a rough-cut is ready, so they could assure that that was not the case. It seems that everything worked out fine, and the movie is ready as it stars Clara Khoury (The Syrian Bride) and Natalie Atiya (a well known Israeli actress, mostly in TV). The movie promises to be a political bomb, and as the Berlin Film Festival took it under his wing, it might also carry quite a few cinematic qualities with it as well.