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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1 — SUNDAY, AUGUST 5 2018
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Audiences flock to JFF 2018 BY TOM GRATER
As of Monday (July 30), this year’s Jerusalem Film Festival (JFF) had already sold as many tickets as in the entirety of the 2017 edition, reveals JFF artistic director Elad Samorzik. Popular events have included the well-received opening night film The Unorthodox and the Chantal Akerman retrospective. Samorzik, who has been in his role since 2014, believes that Israeli cinemagoers are starting to take to the festival in greater numbers because of increased trust. “You can’t make a revolution overnight. You need to
develop your audience and these things take time,” he said. This year’s event took place two weeks later than previous editions, and Samorzik says the festival may continue with the late-July dates. One consequence on the industry side has been that JFF now operates separately from the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab, which has retained its slot in early July. While describing it as unfortunate that delegates to Sam Spiegel could not also attend JFF this year, Samorzik is pleased the festival’s own industry events
received more focus from its attendees as a result. Alongside a strong line-up of Pitch Point projects, Think Fest — the platform for discussion between festival professionals — was back for a second edition. Attendance in the room may have been down, but Samorzik was delighted to have speakers from South America (Rio de Janeiro’s Ilda Santiago and Buenos Aires’ Javier Porta Fouz), India (Mumbai Film Festival’s Smriti Kiran) and Cannes (Critics’ Week head Charles Tesson). The three Think Fest pan-
els are available to watch on JFF’s Facebook page. The team is also talking about organising satellite events at other festivals. “We need to be more active in thinking about the future of film festivals, the discussion needs to continue,” he said. For Samorzik, once the festival closes on Sunday (August 5), work begins immediately on next year’s edition. He is hoping the team can replicate the quality of this year’s film programme, and is aiming to increase the number of screenings, outdoor events and further grow the industry programme.
TODAY
Redemption, page 11
FEATURE Tomer Heymann The Israeli filmmaker on his doc Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life » Page 4
REVIEW Redemption Fresh from its Karlovy Vary win, this Israeli drama is simple but affecting » Page 11
Final print daily This is Screen’s final print edition for Jerusalem 2018. For continued coverage, see ScreenDaily.com
Gitai’s House finally opens its doors BY TOM GRATER
Green Productions sparks Armoni’s Electrifiers BY MELANIE GOODFELLOW
Tel Aviv-based Green Productions has released a first-look image of Boaz Armoni’s upcoming musical comedy The Electrifiers, featuring an ensemble cast topped by Israeli TV stars Tal Friedman and Eli Yatzpan. The duo play a pair of washed-up, one-hit-wonder pop musicians trying to stage a comeback, with a host of 1980s pop icons making guest appearances. The 36-day production is shooting for another two-and-a-half weeks in and around Tel Aviv before heading to New York and Kiev for additional scenes in September. The ensemble cast also
includes Uri Hochman and Sharon Alexander. The film marks a change of genre for Armoni, who is best known for his 2015 comedy-horror Freak Out about a homesick soldier posted to a remote base in northern Israel, which was also produced by Green Productions. The Electrifiers was initiated by producer Zvika Nathan who approached Green Productions with the idea, which subsequently proposed Armoni as a potential director. Nathan co-wrote the script alongside actor Sarel Piterman and stand-up comedian Shir Reuven. “I like horror and comedy,”
Armoni told Screen International. “Freak Out was a comic-horror movie and now I’m doing a fullblown comedy movie. The other connection is that, like Freak Out, the protagonists are also losers, outsiders. I’m into these sorts of characters.” Other upcoming titles on Green Productions’ slate include The Quarters, a portmanteau film exploring various aspects of Jerusalem co - directed by Todd Solondz, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Arsinée Khanjian and Anna Muylaert. The company is gearing up to shoot Khanjian’s segment in November.
Israel’s film industry may be battling the Ministry of Culture and Sport’s proposed amendments to the Film Law, but one of its most renowned filmmakers has noted government censorship is not new. Amos Gitai (Kadosh) attended a combined screening of his new film A Letter To A Friend In Gaza and a restoration of his 1980 doc House here at JFF on Saturday (July 28), but the director reveals the latter was almost lost. He shot House on 16mm blackand-white celluloid in 1979 for the Israel Broadcasting Authority. It coincided with the rise of the right wing, following the Likud-National Liberal Movement’s 1977 election victory. Israel’s then-director general of television requested amends to the film due to its political nature; the director refused and the project was blocked from broadcast. Its original negative then mysteriously disappeared. Luckily, the director had made a video scan copy, which the Royal Belgian Film Archive was able to use to produce the digital restoration. Gitai hopes the new version will bring the film renewed appreciation: “Because it was censored 40 years ago, not many people saw it. Luckily I was prudent.” Noam Preisman
Ofir Raul Graizer, whose feature debut The Cakemaker won two prizes at last year’s JFF, is busy developing two new projects. The first, titled America, which is in development with The Cakemaker producer Itai Tamir and has Israel Film Fund backing, is about a swimming instructor who returns to Israel after 10 years away to bury his father, from whom he was estranged. The second, The Dream Of The Shepherd, is the story of an immigration clerk with a dark secret who develops an obsession with a painting. Philipp Moravetz of Italy’s Giafatto Entertainment is producing. “Both are very emotional and personal projects,” said the Berlin-based filmmaker. The Cakemaker has also been optioned for a US remake by producer Uri Singer (Marjorie Prime). Graizer describes it as “more an adaptation than a remake”, and has delivered a treatment for the new US-set version. Although Singer is hiring a US writer for the screenplay, the door is open for Graizer to direct. “All possibilities are open and we are very excited about bringing a new angle to this story,” he said. Matt Mueller
F LO IRS OK T
Cakemaker director cooks up double
The Electrifiers
Amos Gitai at JFF