Israel in Motion

Featuring the best of classic and contemporary Israeli cinematography.

Monthly, September 2005 through August 2006. San Francisco and the Peninsula (See Ongoing Programs, TZAVTA)

The Israeli Movie Club

Meets once a month to explore Israeli culture through films and conversations with leading figures from the Israeli film industry.

Upcoming screenings: Yana ’s friends, Wisdom of the Pretzel, The Summer of Aviya and more.

Monthly, September 2005 through August 2006. Palo Alto. The Israeli House @ The Israeli Consulate. Info: 415.844.7503, www.israeliconsulate.org.

The 9th Annual Arab film festival

Israeli film: The Syrian Bride (Bay Area Premiere).

More about the movie...

Saturday, September 24, 2005. 7:30 PM. Castro Theater, 429 Castro Street @ Market, San Francisco.

Thursday, September 28, 2005. 8:45 PM. Cubberly Hall, Stanford University.

Friday, September 30, 2005. 7:00 PM. California Theater, 2113 Kittredge St., Berkeley.

The 28th Annual Mill Valley Film Festival

Israeli films: Ushpizin, Live and Become, 39 Pounds of Love, Messiah, Tuesday's Women

October 6 - 16, 2005. Various locations, Mill Valley. Info:  www.mvff.com, or call 925.866.9559

San Jose Jewish Film Festival

The 14th Annual San Jose Jewish Film Festival is about to begin with a record number of films from around the world celebrating the diversity of the Jewish experience. Highlights include Bay Area premieres and guest speakers. For the complete schedule and description of films and to purchase tickets, please visit our website www.sjjff.org.

Israeli films: Metallic Blues, The Syrian Bride, Ushpizin, Behind Enemy Lines, Until Tomorrow Comes, Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi (Teen Screen)

Wednesday, October 23 - Sunday, November 20, 2005. Camera 12, 201 S. Second St., San Jose. Info & tickets: www.sjjff.org, or call 408.874.5907 or 408-357-7492 .

Teen Screen (ages 14-18)
Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi (Ha'Kohavim Shel Shlomi)
Special screening followed by a interactive discussion moderated by Rabbi Dana Magat of Temple Emanu-El, San Jose
Sunday, November 20, 2005. 3:00 PM. Camera 12, 201 S. Second St., San Jose. For reservations, call Fagie Rosen at 408-357-7492.

Landmark theatre featuring: Ushpinzin

A heartwarming and humorous Israeli drama about an ultra-Orthodox married couple suffering through a financial crisis.Written by Shuli Rand, directed by Giddi Dar.

Scheduled for October 2005 release. Landmark theatres, US distributor Picturehouse

The Sonoma County 10th Annual Jewish Film Series

Starting September 8, 2005.

Turn Left at the End of the World
This fast-paced film takes place in 1969 in an isolated Israeli village on the edge of the Negev desert, where two Jewish immigrant families, one from Morocco and the other from India , become unlikely neighbors who seem to share nothing but the dream of a new life. But each family has a teenage daughter negotiating the landscape of the sexual revolution in a culture quite different from her family's.This charming and sexy story is the highest-grossing Israeli film of the last decade. Advisory: film has scenes with explicit sexual content.  

Thursday, December 8, 2005. 1:30 PM, 7:15 PM. Rialto Cinemas Lakeside, 551 Summerfield Rd, Santa Rosa. Tickets and Information Call the JCA office: 707.528.4222. More info at www.jcagency.org

Delayed Reaction - Movie & Discussion

Screening the Film Delayed Reaction followed by a discussion with filmmaker Shmuel Calderon, who tells his personal story of coping with post-traumatic stress disorder following the Yom Kipur war. (see Lectures & Literature)

Saturday, January 7, 2006. time TBA. Cubberley Community Center, 4000 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Info: 415-844-7503. Info: The Consulate General of Israel 415.844.7504 www.israeliconsulate.org

Contra Costa International Jewish Film Festival

The festival presents independent and foreign feature films, shorts and documentaries.

Featuring the Israeli films: Campfire , Syrian Bride, Walk on Water. Turn Left at the End of the World, and more.

Saturday, March 4 - Friday, March 10, 2006: CineArts, Pleasant Hill and at the Contra Costa Jewish Community Cetner, 2071 Tice Valley Bl, Walnut Creek. Info: www.jfed.org/jewishfilmfestival, or call 925.938.7800

Sponsors: Contra Costa Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay

Tiburon International Film Festival

Staffed by a combination of local volunteers and permanent employees, the Tiburon International Film Festival seeks to provide the community with top quality films from around the world that would not be accessible without such an event. The festival's goal is one of cultural enrichment and heightened cultural awareness.

Check back for featured Israeli Films.

Thursday, March 9 - Friday, March 17, 2006: Tiburon Playhouse Theater, Main Street, Tiburon. www.tiburonfilmfestival.com, or call 415.381.4123

Video Screening: Inbal Pinto Dance Company in Oyster

"Part surreal vaudeville, part circus, and part toy store after midnight: that's Oyster..." says the Village Voice, adding: "This creation by the wildly imaginative Israeli team of choreographer Pinto and director Pollak is whimsical, a delight for the eye." Formerly of the Batsheva Dance Company, Pinto combines striking visuals with acrobatic choreography in Osyter. It is a poetic evening-length work The New York Times calls "a wider fable for our time."

"Oyster is cheering...Its blend of dance and theatre is a magical gift to the audience." - The Times, London

(See Performing Arts for performance information)

Tuesday, May 2, 2006 7:00 PM. Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Mission @ 3rd, San Francisco. Info: www.performances.org / (415) 398-6449

Israeli Film Celebration at San Jose Jewish Film Festival

Flyer...

Sunday, May 17 - Sunday, May 24, 2005. Camera 12, 201 S. Second St., San Jose. Info & tickets: www.sjjff.org, or call 408.874.5907 or 408-357-7492 .

Mini Israel Film Festival at Israel in the Gardens 2006

Continuously showing the best of Israel's recent Drama, Comedy, Satire, Documentary, Animation, student films and Shorts at the community Wide celebration of Israel 58 th Independence Day. Sponsored by the Koret Foundation.

Sunday, June 4, 2006. Yerba Buena Gardens , San Francisco. www.israelinthegardens.org / 415.512.6203

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival promotes awareness, appreciation and pride in the diversity of the Jewish people. Festival programs are meant to create community and strengthen consciousness of Jewish identity, history and culture; provide a dynamic and inclusive forum for exploration of and dialogue about the Jewish experience; and encourage independent filmmakers working with Jewish themes.

July 20 - August 7, 2006. Locations TBA, San Francisco, Berkeley, Palo Alto, Marin. Info: www.sfjff.org , or call 415.621.0556.

Special presentations of Israeli films

Close to Home - Israel, 2005 94 minutes, Arabic, and Hebrew with English subtitles.
An army buddy movie - but these buddies happen to be young women Israeli soldiers. A unique view on the female experience of military service at a time of heightened security concerns, it’s also a well-crafted coming-of-age tale about friendship between two opposites. Smadar, the quintessential bad girl, is boy-crazy and a recreational shoplifter to boot. Mirit is the goody two-shoes who tries to be the perfect soldier so she can be transferred and not posted “close to home.” Vidi Bilu and Dalia Hager's new feature transcends politics and borders with the strength of its storytelling and the universality of its characters. Co-sponsored by Congregation Emanu-El Young Adults and by Tzavta at San Francisco Israel Center of the JCF.

Preceded by
The Substitute - California Premiere, Israel, 2005, 19 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles. Zohara, an army clerk, has been waiting for months to get a transfer from her remote base. Today is the day. But When her substitute shows up appearing to be emotionally unstable, Zohara’s plans threaten to unravel.

Castro Theatre – Tues, July 25th at 7:00 PM. Following the movie there will be a Q&A with the directors Dalia Hager and Vidi Bilu.

***

What a Wonderful Place - North American Premiere, Israel, 2004, 104 minutes, English, Hebrew, and Russian with English subtitles. Awarded “Best Picture” in Israel last year! This tough, bittersweet drama links the lives of desperate men and women on the fringes of Israeli society, looking for someplace to call home. Ex-cop Franco is reduced to smuggling illegal immigrant girls from the former Soviet Union on behalf of a violent gangster but is touched by Jana, a wispy Ukrainian woman trying to earn money for her daughter back home. Their deepening relationship forms the spine of this brilliant feature. Co-presented by New Israel Fund's New Generations, Congregation Emanu-El Young Adults, Tzavta at San Francisco Israel Center of the JCF, and Salon.com