News

Israeli director Amos Gitai has batted back calls for a boycott of his new film Why War and said both sides of the Israel–Palestine conflict need to clean out their current leaderships for peace to prevail.

Premiering this weekend of out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, Why War takes its cue from correspondence in the early 1930s between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud on the question of the human race’s bellicose nature and how to avoid war. The work mixes reenactments of the two figures reciting their exchanges, with historic images of war in art and acted scenes of characters dealing with the psychological impact of conflict.

Although the movie has no direct connection to today’s conflict in the Middle East, Gitai and Why War have been the target of protests in Venice. Around 300 filmmakers signed an open letter opposing the movie, and Dani Rosenberg...

Israeli director Amos Gitai has batted back calls for a boycott of his Venice work Why War and said both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict need to clean out their current leaderships for peace to prevail.

Premiering this weekend of Out of Competition in Venice, Why War takes its cue from correspondence in the early 1930s between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud on the question of the human race’s bellicose nature and how to avoid war.

The work mixes reenactments of the two figures reciting their exchanges, with historic images of war in art and acted scenes of characters dealing with the psychological impact of conflict.

It was initiated after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed more than 1,000 people, and Israel’s subsequent retaliatory military campaign in Gaza, which has wreaked destruction on the territory and killed more than 40,000 people.

However, Gitai said his vision had been...

Fox Entertainment Studios is developing the first scripted series representation of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, sharing the real-life accounts that emerged from the dark day in the country’s history.

Premiering this October, the four-part anthology series, “One Day in October,” centers on four gritty and unflinching narratives of love, courage, survival and loss. From parental sacrifice and joyful moments turning to torment, to beacons of hope in the heart of chaos, each story reveals profound truths about the senseless carnage of Hamas’ assault, the visceral emotions it released and, as each victim’s world unraveled around them, the perseverance and sheer heroism required to survive.

“’One Day in October’ is among the most powerful projects I’ve seen, let alone been involved with,” head of Fox Entertainment Studios Fernando Szew said in a Monday statement. “Beautifully filmed, yet gut-wrenching, these are stories of people at their best in the midst of unimaginable,...

Exclusive: As the anniversary of October 7 approaches, the first scripted series about the devastating attack has emerged.

Fox Entertainment Studios and Israel’s yes TV are co-producing One Day in October, a four-part anthology series which the pair are calling the “first scripted representation of the personal stories that emerged from Oct. 7.”

Created by Oded Davidoff and Daniel Finkelman, the drama series, which is filmed on location in Israel, centers on four narratives of love, courage, survival and loss. From parental sacrifice and moments turning to torment to beacons of hope amid chaos, each story reveals profound truths about the “senseless carnage of this assault,” according to its backers. Cast includes Swell Ariel Or (The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem), Noa Kedar (The Malevolent Bride), Naomi Levov, Hisham Suliman, Wael Hamdoun (Fauda), Yuval Semo, Avi Azulay (Testament: The Story of Moses), Naveh Tzur and Yael Abecassis.

On October 7, Hamas militants stormed into Israel attacking, amongst other places, a number of kibbutzes and the Nova Music Festival, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage, of which only around half have so far returned and a number are presumed dead. The attack was the catalyst for the Israel-Hamas War, which has so far seen the deaths of around 40,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

One Day in October is one of the first projects for Fox Entertainment Studios banner Tideline, which Deadline revealed was launching earlier this year at Sundance. The anthology, which is being produced by Finkelman’s New York-based production company Sparks Go and Israel’s Zoa Films, will premiere on yes TV in October and be distributed globally by Fox Entertainment Global.

“One Day in October is among the most powerful projects I’ve seen, let alone been involved with,” said Fernando Szew, head of Fox Entertainment Studios. “Beautifully filmed, yet gut-wrenching, these are stories of people at their best in the midst of unimaginable, horrible circumstances. The survivors portrayed in this series allowed for their horrific experiences to be represented by wonderful talent — both in front of and behind the camera – which will invite the audience to ultimately feel their profound love of, and for, life.”

Finkleman added: “Our goal with this series is to capture and convey the picturesque kibbutz and euphoric music celebration that abruptly crumbled into incomprehensible nightmares. Thanks to the unwavering support of Fernando, Hannah and Tideline, I think we’ve achieved that vision and were able to create this four-part series from start to finish within a year, which is almost unheard of for any production.”

There are already a couple of movies in the works about October 7 and its aftermath including Dani Rosenberg’s Of Dogs and Men, which will world premiere at Venice, while several documentaries are being made about the attack. One Day in October also has shades of Ukraine War anthology series Those Who Stayed.

“At Tideline, our mission is to tell relevant and impactful stories from differentiated voices and perspectives globally,” said Hannah Pillemer, Executive Vice President and Head of Scripted at Fox Entertainment Studios. “One Day in October is seminal, poignant and beautifully told, making it a fitting and essential addition to Tideline’s growing footprint.”

One Day in October features four hour-long episodes written by Liron Ben-Shlush (Next to Her, Working Woman), Davidoff (The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, The Malevolent Bride), Adam G. Simon, and Amir Hasfari and Keren Weissman (Mama’s Angel). It is directed by Davidoff and produced by Finkelman (Menasche, The Performance), Chaya Amor (The Performance), Aviv Ben-Shlush, Lee Ben-Shlush Kuperman and Szew.

Talking to Variety at the Taormina Film Festival, celebrated Israeli director Amos Gitai spoke about his next feature film following his Berlinale entry “Shikun,” which has the title “Why War?”

Gitai explained: “Why people make war is the subject of my next film. It’s the dialogue between Einstein and Freud in 1931. Albert Einstein was asked by the League of Nations to choose one intellectual to put one question to. And he chose Sigmund Freud. And he asked him a question of two words, which is: ‘Why war?’ There’s an exchange of letters between the two with Einstein putting his interpretation on Freud’s answer and that’s the basis of my next project.”

According to production company Elefant Films, the script for “Why War?” was written by Marie-Josée Sanselme, and the film is produced by Alex Iordachescu. The cast includes Irène Jacob, Mathieu Amalric, Bahira Ablassi, Keren Mor,...

Exclusive: Succession actor Ashley Zukerman is among cast of new feature Song Of Songs, which will be exec-produced by Elizabeth director Shekhar Kapur.

The Anita Lester-directed identity drama, developed by Screen Australia and sold by LevelK, is one of three development projects being backed by a new fund for Jewish Australian features, launched by producer Jamie Bialkower of Jump Street Films.

A second project, called Shoshanna, will star Israeli actors Yael Abecassis and Shlomi Elkabetz, and is being sold by M-Appeal. Scroll down for details on funded projects.

The privately supported fund will go towards stories that advance the depiction of Jewish Australians on screen, by Jewish Australian creatives, with emphasis on authenticity and visibility, explains Bialkower. Financial terms of the backing was not revealed.

The producer says the fund is needed due to a “lack of Jewish narratives being financed in Australia, the lack of support that Jewish...

Visit Films has acquired international sales rights to Amos Gitai’s Berlinale Special selection Shikun and will kick off talks with buyers at the EFM next month.

The Israeli film is inspired by Eugène Ionesco’s allegorical play Rhinoceros, and dramatises the emergence of intolerance and totalitarianism through a series of theatrical episodes that take place in a single Israeli building, the Shikun.

Among this diverse group of people of different origins and languages, some turn into rhinoceroses, while others resist.

The ensemble cast includes Irène Jacob (The Double Life Of Véronique), Hanna Laslo (Free Zone), Yael Abecassis (Sacred), Bahira Ablassi...

The Sheffield DocFest has unveiled its line-up for its 2021 programme that includes the World Premiere of the first instalment of Academy Award winner Steve McQueen’s new series for the BBC, ‘Uprising’.

For the first time, Sheffield DocFest goes nationwide with five premiere screenings showing in up to 16 partner cinemas in cities around the UK, and online, followed by pre-recorded Q&As. It also includes the previously announced Retrospective: Films belong to those who need them – fragments from the history of Black British Cinema.

The celebration of Black British screen culture – curated by guest curators including David Olusoga. Films of all lengths will all be presented as part of the retrospective including titles such as ‘Burning An Illusion’ by Menelik Shabazz, ‘It Ain’t Half Racist’, ‘Mum’ by Stuart Hall, ‘Looking for Langston’ by Isaac Julien, ‘Second Coming’ by Debbie Tucker Green, ‘The Black Safari’ by Colin Luke, ‘Baby Mother...

Cross-city transport unties people from different faiths, backgrounds.

Film Movement has picked up North American rights to Amos Gitai’s Venice 2018 award winner A Tramway In Jerusalem, featuring an ensemble that includes Mathieu Amalric.

The Israeli filmmaker’s latest feature is a multi-cultural drama exploring the cultural divides that separate the inhabitants of one of the world’s most iconic cities, as different religions mingle on the Light Rail Red Line of Jerusalem’s tramway that connects the city from East to West, from the Palestinian neighborhoods of Shuafat and Beit Hanina to Mount Herzl, site of Israel’s national cemetery.

Film premieres in the festival’s Israeli Feature Competition on Friday (July 27).

Amikam Kovner and Assaf Snir’s Echo, which premieres in Jerusalem Film Festival’s Israeli Feature Competition on Friday (July 27), has had its international sales rights snapped up by Jerusalem-based Go2Films.

The film depicts a man who suspects that his wife is having an affair. In an attempt to catch her at it, he begins recording her telephone conversations, discovering in the process that she is a very different woman from the one he thinks he knows. Yoram Toledano and Yaël Abecassis star.

Echo is produced by Dori Media Paran...

Company lines up Eran Kolirin [pictured], Yuval Adler and Itamar Alcalay.

The budding feature film arm of leading Israeli media and entertainment company Dori Media Paran (Dmp) unveils rough cut material from Amikam Kovner and Assaf Snir’s infidelity drama Echoes at the Jerusalem Pitch Point works-in-progress showcase today (July 17), part of this year’s Jerusalem Film Festival.

It is one of the first auteur productions to come out of the Israeli media company’s move into feature film production, which began some four years ago.

Co-starring Yoram Toledano and Yael Abecassis, it revolves around a husband who uncovers another side to his wife and family when he listens in on her conversations with her lover. When she dies in an accident, he becomes obsessed with uncovering the identity of the other man.

Keren Michael, who heads up Dmp’s feature film division, will present the project alongside Dmp CEO Yoni Paran.

Having previously...

Title: Atlit (Rendez-vous à Atlit) Director: Shirel Amitai Starring: Geraldine Nakache, Judith Chemla, Yael Abecassis, Arsinee Khanjian, Pippo Delbono, Makram J. Khoury, Yossi Marshak. Writer-director Shirel Amitai’s debut feature ‘Atlit’ follows three siblings reconnecting in their childhood home. The story takes place in 1995, in the small town of Atlit, where Cali (Geraldine Nakache) meets her sisters Darel (Yael Abecassis) and Asia (Judith Chemla), to sell the house inherited by her parents. The newly found proximity between the three, creates an oneiric family sensation where the girls interact with the spirit of their parents – Mona (Arsinee Khanjian) and Zack (Pippo Delbono) – as they wonder whether to sell the [ Read More ]

The post Atlit (Rendez-vous à Atlit) Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

A Borrowed Identity (fka Dancing Arabs) Strand Releasing Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for Shockya. Databased on Rotten Tomatoes. Grade: B+ Director: Eran Riklis Screenwriter: Sayed Kashua, adapted from his novel “Dancing Arabs” Cast: Tawfeek Barhom, Yaël Abecassis, Michael Moshonov, Ali Suliman, Daniel Kitzis, Marlene Bajali, Laëtitia Eido, Razi Gabareen, Norman Issa Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 6/17/15 Opens: June 26, 2015 We’re accustomed to typically American movies about life in high school: how the students are divided into subgroups like “the jocks,” “the nerds,” and “the goths.” While teens place great emphasis on fitting in, they actually fit into not to a homogenous whole but into one of these divisions. [ Read More ]

The post A Borrowed Identity Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

The 71st Venice Film Festival announced its lineup this morning, highlighted by films from American directors, including David Gordon Green, Barry Levinson, Peter Bogdanovich, Lisa Cholodenko, Andrew Niccol, and James Franco. As had been previously announced, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, starring Michael Keaton and many others, will be the opening film when the festival begins on Aug. 27.

Click below for the entire list of 55 films playing in Venice.

Competition

The Cut, directed by Fatih Akin

Starring Tahar Rahim, Akin Gazi, Simon Abkarian, George Georgiou

A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence, directed by Roy Andersson

Starring Holger Andersson,...