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Archives from the Festival in 2007

Aviva My Love

Winner of Israeli Academy Awards of 2006
107 min
Director : Shemi Zarhin
Language : Hebrew w/English subtitles
 

Aviva, a hard-working hotel cook in the small northern Israeli town of Tiberias, is on the brink of finally fulfilling her lifelong dream. For years she kept her remarkable writing abilities under wraps, until her sister, Anita, introduces her to Oded, an accomplished novelist. Immediately recognizing Aviva's talent, Oded takes her under his wing, promising to help her achieve greatness. But the journey to greatness effects her life and the lives of her family - her unemployed husband, her troubled children, her unstable mother, and primarily her sister, a funny and sensitive woman who has her own dreams. Aviva's story, as it unfolds with laughter and tears, is about the power of one woman to realize her true destiny.
 
Year Zero

131 minutes
Director : Joseph Pitchhadze
Language : Hebrew with English subtitles
 

Three seemingly separate stories taking place in Tel Aviv, this film examines people from very different backgrounds beginning what seems to be an ordinary day, although by the end of a few weeks, their lives will have intersected with surprising results. Reuben and Michal, a couple in their forties, decided years ago not to have any children. Michal unexpectedly gets pregnant. Anna, a young single mother, and her ten-year-old son are thrown out of their rented apartment. Kagan, a solitary and introverted radio technician in his thirties, is recording a radio program about his father, the founder of the punk movement in Israel.
 
Frozen Days

Best Israeli Film, Haifa International Film Festival, 2005
94 minutes
Director : Danny Lerner
Language : Hebrew/with English subtitles
 

"Meow", an intriguing young woman roaming the streets and nightclubs of Tel Aviv, meets up with her internet chat buddy and gradually assumes his identity. As she moves into his apartment she finds herself sinking into a twisted reality, daring the audience to decipher the clues.
 
The Final Victory, the story of Felix Zandman

58 minutes
Director : Haim Hecht
Language : Hebrew, English with English subtitles
 

Felix Zandman began his life in a small village in Poland. As a young child, he watched while most of his family was captured and killed by Nazis. Thanks to the kindness and courage of his maid, he escaped the Nazi's by hiding in her basement for 17 months. This film traces the harrowing time he spent hidden and hungry during World War Two to his achievements as a world renowned scientist and an entrepreneur after the war. Today, Dr. Zandman is founder, Chairman and CEO of Vishay Intertechnology Inc, a global high-tech manufacturer.
 
Love Hurts

Best TV Series - Haifa Internation Film Festival
Director : Ram Nahari, Israel, 2005,
Language : Hebrew w/English subtitles
 

Luke is the sexy host of a TV food show and appears to be a tough, cynical, young women. She comes home to find her fiancé moved out. Her best friend’s advice is to sleep with the first attractive man she meets. She reluctantly takes the friend’s advice. This very entertaining series follows Luke through her heartbreak, career and new surprising romance.
 
Three Mothers

106 minutes
Director : Dina Zvi-Riklis
Language : Hebrew, Arabic and French w/English subtitles

"Three Mothers" is a poignant tale of the lives of triplet sisters, born in Alexandria to the palace midwife and raised in Israel . The Hakim sisters, Rose, Yasmin, and Flora were born in Alexandria in 1942.  In 1958 Jews became unwelcome and the family fled to Israel.  The film which follows the lives of the three sisters and their families in Israel, with many twists and turns, challenges the meaning of marital loyalties and sibling relationships.
 
Little Heroes

76 minutes
Director :Itai Lev
Language : Hebrew, Russian with English subtitles
 

Four children embark on a magical journey to rescue two injured teenagers. One day, Alicia, an immigrant girl from Russia with telepathic abilities, senses that there are people crying for help in a nearby valley. Determined to save them, she and three boys set off on a journey. Through their adventures, these four outsiders bond and become heroes.
 
Like Fish Out Of Water

50 minutes
Director : Leon Prudovsky
Language : Hebrew with English subtitles
 

A romantic comedy about Marcelo, a new immigrant from Argentina, and Anat, his Hebrew teacher at the Raanana Absorption Center. Marcelo is trying to improve his Hebrew accent so he can get an acting role in an Israeli Soap Opera. Anat, who could help him, has her own issues.
 
Stand At Ease

19 minutes
Director : Ben Katz 
Language :  Hebrew with English subtitles
 

A short comedey about eighteen-year-old Noah, a religious drummer in a heavy rock band. Upon joining the army, Noah has to choose between service in the IDF commandos like his friends in the settlement, and a musical career.
 
 
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