Master Class with creators of “Birder” – Director/producer Nate Dushku & writer/producer Amnon Lourie,
Discussion will be hosted by Gili Porat & Shani Kiniso of the “Trashtalk” podcast.
Master Class with creators of “Birder
The Inner Truth
“The Inner Truth”, led by Hila Alroi, the health correspondent of Channel 13, and directed by Liran Atzmon, sets out to examine how the transgender issue, while indeed affecting a very small percentage of the population, is at the heart of the media attention, discourse on social networks, a matter of dispute for organizations dealing with the subject (both in terms of community rights and in the struggle against its legitimacy), protests, films, and books.
Birder
Despite its name that suggests a relaxed and quaint piece, “Birder” is the perfect late night erotic thriller.
Kristian Brooks invades a queer nudist camp on the shores of a remote New Hampshire lake. While not wearing much, he makes friends with the locals, and his flirting disturbs the commune’s dynamics. When he seduces the naked men around him, they’re about to experience a lot more than they imagined.
“Birder” explores the behavior of a serial killer and takes his audience on an unexpected journey. Director Nate Dushku provides a queer piece that celebrates diversity of nudity and tests the limits.
Viewing is 18+ due to explicit sexual content, nudity and violence.
After the screening, Q&A with the director Nate Dushku and the screenwriter Amnon Lourie.
My Sole Desire
A striptease show to a techno remix version of Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the sugar plum fairy”, nude reading of Chekhov and a satirical striptease on the theme of yellow vests protests. All these and more are part of a show in the Parisian strip club “À Mon Seul Désir”, a place where stripers with artistic flair can take professional risks and challenge their audience.
Manon (Louise Chevillotte, “Synonymes” by Nadav Lapid) is a young aimless woman with no real purpose in life. She spontaneously decides to start working at the club and is immediately drawn to her new colleagues, especially Mia (Zita Hanrot, “Angry Annie”), an ambitious actress with a partner and a child. The relationship between the two intensifies as they spend more and more time together and Manon finds herself falling for Mia. The two begin a secret affair in a place where you must draw the line between love and work.
Director Lucie Borleteau created a film about sex workers through a female non judgmental gaze. She describes the world of the women working in the club with all its complexities. The result is a surprising and unusual cinematic journey with excellent actresses in the lead roles and quite a few surprise guest appearances, such as Melvil Poupaud (“Time to Leave”), Félix Maritaud (“120 BPM”), legendary director Frederick Weisman and actress Ariane Labed (“Lobster”).
Viewing is 18+ due to explicit sexual content.
In association with the Embassy of France
Opponent
Iman is a former wrestling champion, a refugee from Iran, who is now wandering between refugee hostels in Sweden with his wife Miriam and their two daughters. Iman has escaped his homeland Iran in fear of persecution after a violent crime he committed. He is looking for ways to provide his wife and daughters a place to live and works delivering pizzas on a snow motorbike.
When Miriam becomes unexpectedly pregnant for the third time, and the talks with the Swedish immigration become tougher, Iman decides to renew his wrestling career, despite the promise he made to his wife never to engage in the dangerous sport again.
Iman is hoping that being included in the Swedish team will earn him a special staying permit as a sportsman. As his skills are very much appreciated by the local team and also by one of his fellow teammates (Björn Elgerd, “Are We Lost Forever”), the deeper reasons that lead Iman to fleeing Iran are about to surface.
In his second film, director/screenwriter Milad Alami is aided by a superb cast lead by Payman Maadi. He creates a complex and layered social drama dealing with culture clashes, identities, and how the individual is getting lost inside the political.
Swedish submission for the Oscar Awards 2024.
In association with the Embassy of Sweden
Bones and Names
Boris the actor and Jonathan the writer are a couple, but their relationship reached the point where they can spend their evenings together-apart – one in bed reading scripts and the other working at the office desk in the next room. Boris is sinking further and further into rehearsals for a new film with an ambitious director whose way of work starts to affect his personal life. Meanwhile Jonathan is trying to redefine his voice as a writer. The couple is experiencing a period of emotional distancing, betrayal of trust, fear of losing their relationship as well as fear of losing themselves in it.
This is the debut feature film of actor, screenwriter and director Fabian Stumm, and he shows that he is one of most interesting young voices in German cinema today. Stumm manages to turn what seems to be banal and everyday scenes – in the bedroom, supermarket or rehearsal room, into something unexpected in a film that is an intelligent and amusing takeout on relationships.
The Israeli audience will remember Knut Berger, who plays Jonathan in the movie “Walk on Water” (2004).
Out of Uganda
A few months ago the Ugandan parliament passed a draconian law against the LGBT community. A law that is amongst the harshest in Africa – a continent where homosexuality is outlawed in more than 30 countries.
In this powerful documentary we meet Philip, Hussein, Rami and Shami – four Ugandan refugees that are the humane face of this continuing crisis. While waiting for asylum in Switzerland, these refugees – two gay men, a lesbian and a transgender woman, talk about the horrible feeling of being persecuted in your own country, sometimes by your own family, both physically and emotionally, for being who they are.
“Out of Uganda” gently explores the tales of its protagonists, gives them a voice and at the same time introduces the audience to the politicians and religious men that rouse the hatred against the LGBT community in Uganda. This film provides some of the most powerful and moving moments of this year’s TLVFest. It is also a big warning sign against what happens these days in Israel.
Marinette
From the moment she kicked a ball, Marinette Pichon’s life revolved around football (soccer). The woman who became France’s highest goal scorer was born in a small town that had no girls football team, but her enormous talent was hard to miss and she found herself starring in the local boys club. Focusing on sport has helped her deal with the toxic relationship between her parents, and in the meantime she struggled whether to keep her sexuality to herself or live out and proud and risk her career.
Director/Screenwriter Virginie Verrier brings to the screen a sweeping biopic about one of the most important sportswomen in French history and who had become the first French football player to play for an American club. Into Pichon’s cleats steps one of French cinema’s rising stars Garance Marillier (“Raw”, “Titane”) in a dazzling performance.
The film is accompanied by a thrilling period soundtrack, energetic editing and dominant camera work. “Marinette” succeeds in the mission of following the story of one of the greatest football players of all time and her constant struggle to get an equal treatment from the country she gave so much to.
In association with the Embassy of France
No Matter Where
When Itay discovers that his girlfriend changed her name to Silver and is coming out as gender fluid, his world shatters, testing their relationship.
“No Matter Where” is an intimate docudrama about looking for acceptance and home, bridging the magical landscapes of Italy with the desert background of Neot Smadar.
After the screening, Q&A with the creators.
Norwegian Dream
Director Leiv Igor Devold’s debut film is a surprising and heartwarming romantic drama that comes from the frozen shores of Scandinavia.
Robert is a young tough Polish immigrant. Ivar is the black and lively adopted son of a business owner. Along the lush coast of Norway these two young men are navigating issues of cultural displacement, economic inequality and sexual identity. In an effort to save his mother from debt, Robert takes on a taxing physical job in a salmon processing factory in the midst of a small immigrant community. Ivar, the owner’s son, is in charge of showing him around. Ivar is forced to devote his time to the family business, but has several other dreams – such as developing his talent as a drag artist. The two young men are so different from each other, but opposites attract and their friendship slowly turns into something more.
In association with the Embassy of Norway
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