Israel Film Festival opens in Miami December 9

Meir Fenigstein
© Israel Film Festival

The 23rd Israel Film Festival  is bringing the creative output of Israeli filmmakers to Miami December 9-18.

“Americans should come and see some of these films for the same reason they should watch Japanese or Chinese films or any other foreign films – to gain insights into other cultures,” says the festival’s founder and executive director, Meir Fenigstein.

“Moreover, everyone should come because these are wonderful films. Israel makes 15 to 20 feature films a year. That’s a lot for a small country – and its ratio of success is very high, perhaps 40 or 50 percent. America makes about 500 films a year. Maybe 50 are profitable, but the other 450 nobody sees.”

Fenigstein says the reason for attending a film festival, as opposed to watching films in theatrical release or on DVD, is “the opportunity to hear the filmmakers speak and to experience their vision.” Typically a film’s director, producer, or an actor who played a leading role will discuss the film after the screening, and answer questions from the audience.

Lost Islands
© Israel Film Festival

Opening night gala

The festival opens December 9 with the U.S. premiere showing of  Lost Islands, directed by Reshef Levy. It won four 2008 Israeli Academy Film Awards, including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. The film centers on the large and unique Levi family. Levi stresses the importance of fulfilling your dreams, while his wife preaches absolute family loyalty. When twin brothers, Erez and Ofer, fall in love with the same girl, they must choose between family loyalty and love.

The opening night gala will begin at 7:30 PM at the Colony Theatre , 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. Before the film is shown, awards will be presented to Grammy Award winning “hip-hop” violinist Miri Ben-Ari; and to Ofer Bavly, Consul General of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico.

The Little Traitor
© Israel Film Festival

By coincidence, Bavley also attended the opening night of the first Israel Film Festival 23 years ago. “It was in Boston,” Fenigstein recalls. “He was 10 years old at the time. He came with his father, who was Israel’s Consul General in New England.”

After opening night, the festival migrates to the Sunrise Cinemas Intracoastal Mall 8, at 3701 NE 163rd St. in North Miami Beach. More than 20 films are being shown. You can see the schedule, read descriptions of the films, and purchase tickets online at the festival’s Web site . The films are in Hebrew, with English subtitles so you can understand the dialogue.
 

Of all the films in the festival, only one features actors whose names American audiences are likely to recognize. It’s  The Little Traitor, a 2007 release starring Alfred Molina and Theodore Bikel. Directed by Lynn Roth, it is based on  Panther in the Basement, a novel by Amos Oz. Set a few months before Israel achieved statehood, The Little Traitor tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a British soldier and a spirited 11-year-old Israeli boy who wants the occupying forces to leave his land.

A Traveling Festival

Unlike most film festivals, which are geographically linked to a single locale, the Israel Film Festival travels each year to Los Angeles in June, to New York in the autumn, and then to Miami in December. Fenigstein says the three venues attract a total of 50,000 people a year.

Since its inception, the Israel Film Festival has shown more than 800 feature films, documentaries, television dramas, and short films to roughly 900,000 film enthusiasts. It is the largest single showcase for Israeli films in the United States.

Fenigstein was born in Tel Aviv to parents who were Holocaust survivors. Before launching the Israel Film Festival, he was a drummer nicknamed "Poogy" in a rock band, Kavaret (Beehive), that performed from 1973 to 1976. “We were the Beatles of Israel,” he says.