Duration: 90 minutes
Cream Puffs & Cars – Israeli Shorts 1
Strange Way of Life (Almodóvar) and 3 Israeli films
Duration: 80 minutes
International Gay Shorts
A set of six short films that give different perspectives on gay life, all in different genres – realistic, sexy, horror, crime and one surprising comedy.
The films in this mix come from USA, Germany, France and a Swiss/Colombian production.
Duration: 90 minutes
Night in the Arava – Israeli Shorts 3
Duration: 85 minutes
Dancing On The Road – Israeli Shorts 4
Duration: 100 minutes
Love Letter to a Garden – Israeli Shorts 7
Duration: 70 minutes
TLVFest Honorary Award to Gila Almagor & “Tied Hands”
The film tells the story of a sensitive and complex relationship between a mother and her ailing son. Like in Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale “The Loveliest Rose in the World” where a prince must search for a rose to save his mother, who is dying in bed, “Tied Hands” sees a reversal of roles as a desperate mother goes out to find marijuana, to ease her son’s pain. In her turbulent journey in the streets of Tel-Aviv, old truths from her past come back to life and threaten to break down a wall of denials behind which she’s been hiding all her life.
Chasing Amy
Following Sav Rodgers’ wonderful documentary “Chasing Chasing Amy”, we had to screen Kevin Smith’s classic from 1997 (even though it didn’t age that well).
Is this film a lesbian fantasy of a straight man, or does it actually capture the nuances of a pansexual/bisexual identity better than many other films made even today?
A once in a lifetime performance by Joey Lauren Adams as the lesbian comic artist Ben Affleck’s character falls in love with (and she falls in love back). The film brings up questions about female sexuality and fluidity of sexual orientation that were ahead of their time back then and are still relevant today.
We highly recommend watching Sav Rodgers’ “Chasing Chasing Amy” which gives Smith’s classic film added layers and context.
Reaching for the Moon
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Free entry with Cinematheque membership
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A screening for the film’s 10th anniversary
The year is 1951 and the poet Elisabeth Bishop is looking for inspiration. She leaves her New York home and travels to sunny Rio de Janeiro to visit her old school friend Mary Morse. Elisabeth, with her closed off personality and conservative upbringing, is finding it hard to get used to the Brazilian sensuality, and especially to Marys’ partner – architect Lota de Macedo Soares (who will later design the famous Flamingo Park in Rio). Lota’s cold welcome to Elisabeth soon melts and she tries to convince Elisabeth to move in with her and Mary to their large mansion. Mary is reluctant but Lota wants both women to herself.
Elisabeth Bishop’s emotional poems are the heart of the film that follows an important chapter in the life of Pulitzer award winner. The film showcases wonderful performances by the Australian actress Miranda Otto as Elisabeth and Brazilian telenovelas star Gloria Pires as Lota. Special mention goes to the elegant and on point periodic reconstruction.
The film is based on a book by Carmen L. Oliveira.
In association with the Embassy of Brazil
The Wedding Banquet
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Free entry with Cinematheque membership
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A screening for the film’s 30’s anniversary
Wai-Tung, a 30’s something Chinese immigrant from Taiwan had achieved the American dream – he has a Green Card, his real estate business is flourishing, his bank account is full, and most importantly, his love life is blooming. The problem is that his parents want grandchildren and are pushing for him to get married, while Wei-Tung lives with the love of his life – Simon, a charming young New Yorker who already mastered the secrets of Chinese cooking. Simon has a solution – in one of the apartments Wei-Tung is renting lives Wei-Wei, a poor artist with no Green Card, so a fictional marriage could solve both their problems. In theory it’s a foolproof plan, until Wei-Tung’s parents arrive from Taiwan in order to throw their son a huge wedding banquet.
“The Wedding Banquet”, Ang Lee’s second film, won the Golden Bear award at the Berlinale of 1993.
35mm screening.
