GREENER PASTURES

ISRAEL | 90 MINUTES | 2021 – March 20 - 23

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A retired widower is forced to reexamine his past and embrace his future in this superbly acted comedy that was nominated for 12 Israeli Ophir Awards, including for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor. Boasting a dynamic visual sense, snappy dialogue, and a dream cast of talent, including icons of Israeli comedy like Shlomo Bar-Aba (Academy Award-nominee Footnote and MJFF 2016 film Hill Start) and Doval'e Glickman (International award-winning show Shtisel and MJFF 2020 film Shoelaces), Greener Pastures is a wryly comic story about life, moving on and finding redemption. 

VALIANT HEARTS

FRANCE | 87 MINUTES | 2021 – March 23 - 26

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Bristling with suspense and deeply stirring in equal measures, Valiant Hearts tells the true story of exceptional bravery and survival against all odds. Starring acclaimed French actress Camille Cottin (House of Gucci, Stillwater), the story recounts the odyssey of six Jewish children in August 1942 who are forced to take refuge where no one will ever think to look for them: amidst the Louvre Museum artworks hidden in the Château de Chambord. Between fear, outbursts of laughter, and unexpected encounters, the children learn about independence and discover solidarity and friendship in the midst of tumultuous circumstances. 

LEAVING PARADISE

ISRAEL-BRAZIL | 86 MINUTES | 2021 – March 26 - March 28th

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A breathtaking visual odyssey of discovery, Cleo had always wanted to leave the big city in Brazil where he lives and move to a large farm with his family. After years of saving and planning, he is finally able to pursue his dream and relocate with his wife and 15 children to communal living in Brazil’s great outdoors. In establishing their family farm, the Barolo family grows closer than ever. They form a deep and powerful bond while working, cooking, studying, and playing music together. Everything appears to be working according to plan until Cleo’s daughter makes a startling discovery about their heritage — they are among the 30,000 Brazilians who are descendants of Sephardic Jews. 

LET IT BE MORNING

ISRAEL-FRANCE | 101 MINUTES | 2021 – March 28th - March 31st

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Let It Be Morning is Israel's most acclaimed and prestigious film of the year, recognized for being Israel's official entry to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, winner of 7 Israeli Academy Awards (Ophirs), including for Best Film and Best Director, and winner of Best Film at the Haifa Film Festival. The Band's Visit director Eran Kolirin returns with this gently satirical tale of a man and his family trapped by a military blockade inside a tiny village in Israel. Executive Sami has reluctantly traveled to his remote hometown for his brother’s wedding with his wife Mina and their young son in tow never imagining he would  encounter unexpected consequences.

PERSIAN LESSONS

GERMANY | 127 MINUTES | 2021 – March 31st - April 3rd

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From Vadim Perelman, director of the internationally acclaimed film The House of Sand and Fog that received three Academy Award nominations. Alternating between suspense and linguistic absurdity, the story about Gilles, a young Belgian man arrested by the SS alongside other Jews, is compelling. He is sent to a concentration camp in Germany and narrowly avoids execution by claiming he is Persian not Jewish. This lie temporarily saves him, but then Gilles is assigned a seemingly untenable mission: to teach Persian to Koch, the officer in charge of the camp's kitchen, who dreams of opening a restaurant in Persia (Iran) once the war is over. Gilles finds himself having to invent a language he doesn't know, word by word.

TEL AVIV

ISRAEL | 81 MINUTES | 2021 – April 3th - April 6th

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Thought-provoking and utterly alluring, Tel Aviv is an intelligent, unabashedly honest look at modern love, led by marvelously natural performances from breakout stars Meital Ner and Yotam Gota. Michael and Dana are a married couple who live a decidedly imperfect love life. An unexpected crisis shakes their world apart and forces them to make a reckoning of their relationship and life choices. With tact and great care, director Marat Parkhomovsky digs into all the subjects that lay concealed below the surface of his characters, as their story becomes the story of contemporary Tel Aviv, its youth, its voices, its beauty, and its sadness.

THE REPLACEMENT

SPAIN | 115 MINUTES | 2021 – April 6th - April 10th

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Intrigue and suspense dominate this gripping thriller.  Hardened by his work in the worst neighborhoods of Madrid, a young police officer accepts a post in a small village by the sea hoping to heal his sick daughter and gain some inner peace. Once there, he becomes involved in the investigation of the strange murder of the inspector he replaced. The inquiry leads him to a group of Nazi elders who live a heavenly and happy retreat on the coast.  Fast-paced, gripping, and featuring a high-caliber cast, The Replacement is terrifically chilling in the tradition of Hitchcock and deserves a spot alongside the best thrillers of the year. 

THE CHEF (TV SERIES)

ISRAEL | 360 MINUTES | 2020

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​AVAILABLE FOR DURATION OF THE FESTIVAL!

Behind-the-scenes intrigue and drama in the male dominated world of the culinary arts–starring Guri Alfi, Gal Toren, Rotem Sela, Yael Elkana.

From the award-winning producers that brought us Fauda, Shtisel and the original version of Your Honor, The Chef is the second most-watched drama on TV in Israel this year and a second season has just been commissioned.  When his lucrative IT career comes to an end, 44-year-old family man Nimrod takes an unexpected decision: starting over as a lowly prep cook at a trendy restaurant in Tel Aviv.