Titles in the Feature and Documentary Film competitions unveiled.Scroll down for full list
The programme of Israeli films at the 35th Jerusalem Film Festival (July 9-19) has been revealed, including Feature and Documentary Film competitions.
The winner of the Haggiag Competition for Isreali Feature Films will take home the biggest prize in any Israeli film competition: $32,000 (120,000 Nis).
Prizes are also awarded for best first feature, actor, actress, cinematography, editing, screenplay, music and the audience choice award, as well as the Van Leer Competition for Israeli Documentary Films.
Other competitions include the International Spirit of Freedom competition and the Jewish Experience competition.
The festival will feature more than 200 Israeli and international films.
Full line-up
Synopses provided by Jerusalem Film Festival
Haggiag Competition for Israeli Feature Films
Tikkun (dir. Avishai Sivan; pro. Ronen Ben-Tal, Avishai Sivan, Moshe Edery, Leon Edery)
Cast: Aharon Traitel, Khalifa Natour, Riki Blich, Gur Sheinberg
Haim-Aharon, a Hassidic yeshiva student, collapses and loses...
The programme of Israeli films at the 35th Jerusalem Film Festival (July 9-19) has been revealed, including Feature and Documentary Film competitions.
The winner of the Haggiag Competition for Isreali Feature Films will take home the biggest prize in any Israeli film competition: $32,000 (120,000 Nis).
Prizes are also awarded for best first feature, actor, actress, cinematography, editing, screenplay, music and the audience choice award, as well as the Van Leer Competition for Israeli Documentary Films.
Other competitions include the International Spirit of Freedom competition and the Jewish Experience competition.
The festival will feature more than 200 Israeli and international films.
Full line-up
Synopses provided by Jerusalem Film Festival
Haggiag Competition for Israeli Feature Films
Tikkun (dir. Avishai Sivan; pro. Ronen Ben-Tal, Avishai Sivan, Moshe Edery, Leon Edery)
Cast: Aharon Traitel, Khalifa Natour, Riki Blich, Gur Sheinberg
Haim-Aharon, a Hassidic yeshiva student, collapses and loses...
- 7/1/2015
- ScreenDaily
Chicago – It’s not hard to imagine viewers of “Lebanon” starting to sweat. It is a claustrophobic tale of war that has drawn deserved comparisons to Wolfgang Peterson’s brilliant “Das Boot” and it is nearly as good a film. This surreal nightmare stands as one of the better war films of the last several years and deserves a much broader international audience than it has yet achieved.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
The reason for the audience claustrophobia is simple — almost the entirety of “Lebanon,” the winner of the prestigious Golden Lion at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, takes place inside a tank. We see out through the sights of the machine just like one of the young men in it but even that offers only part of the picture. The tank itself becomes a symbol for war as it becomes unstable along with the fearful boys inside it. Samuel Moaz’s riveting...
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
The reason for the audience claustrophobia is simple — almost the entirety of “Lebanon,” the winner of the prestigious Golden Lion at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, takes place inside a tank. We see out through the sights of the machine just like one of the young men in it but even that offers only part of the picture. The tank itself becomes a symbol for war as it becomes unstable along with the fearful boys inside it. Samuel Moaz’s riveting...
- 1/31/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Samuel Maoz’s Lebanon is a unique breed of film - one you won’t want to watch twice. There are no plot intricacies to wade through, no Easter eggs adorning the background. This is not an exercise in storytelling but a stalwart recreation of Maoz’s brief time as a trigger man on an Israeli tank crew during the 1982 Lebanon War. As one of several Israeli films in the last few years to deal with the emotional fallout affected the men who served in the 1982 war (Ari Folman’s lauded Waltz With Bashir leading the pack), Lebanon is a strong entry but effectively goes beyond cultural limitations. I would argue that it is an allegory dressed up as a funereal war film, but maybe that’s so key. The importance of Lebanon lies in experiencing and responding to the film, and in that regard it comes highly recommended.
Gunner...
Gunner...
- 1/20/2011
- by Mark Zhuravsky
- JustPressPlay.net
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
No Strings Attached – Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline
The Way Back – Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell (limited)
Movie of the Week
The Way Back
The Stars: Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell
The Plot: A group of gulag escapees journey 4,000 miles to their freedom.
The Buzz: This is Director Peter Weir’s latest — that’s enough buzz right there.
In watching the film’s trailer, one gets the feeling that The Way Back is more of an adventure tale than it is a tale about the gulag. But we’re not talking carefree adventure here; this looks to be a story predominantly about survival, and survival in the most brutal of conditions. Knowing the film is based on a true story, combined with the way in which it has been marketed, allows for one to somewhat safely assume a happy ending (otherwise it...
No Strings Attached – Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline
The Way Back – Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell (limited)
Movie of the Week
The Way Back
The Stars: Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell
The Plot: A group of gulag escapees journey 4,000 miles to their freedom.
The Buzz: This is Director Peter Weir’s latest — that’s enough buzz right there.
In watching the film’s trailer, one gets the feeling that The Way Back is more of an adventure tale than it is a tale about the gulag. But we’re not talking carefree adventure here; this looks to be a story predominantly about survival, and survival in the most brutal of conditions. Knowing the film is based on a true story, combined with the way in which it has been marketed, allows for one to somewhat safely assume a happy ending (otherwise it...
- 1/19/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
On Jan 18, Lebanon, starring Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Reymond Amsalem and Ashraf Barhom (Clash of the Titans), comes to DVD and Blu-ray.
In celebration of the home video release, BuzzFocus and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment are teaming up to give away (1) copy of the Lebanon on DVD.
About Lebanon
In 1982, during the First Lebanon War, a tank manned by a novice crew of Israeli soldiers are led into a town previously bombed by the air force. Young men who have never fought before are now placed inside of a killing machine and thrown into a situation that quickly spins out of control, testing the mental toughness of the men inside of a confined space, with only the lens of a periscopic gun sight to see the madness outside. In Lebanon, writer-director Samuel Maoz has created a compelling, visceral drama in the tradition of Das Boot. Based on his...
In celebration of the home video release, BuzzFocus and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment are teaming up to give away (1) copy of the Lebanon on DVD.
About Lebanon
In 1982, during the First Lebanon War, a tank manned by a novice crew of Israeli soldiers are led into a town previously bombed by the air force. Young men who have never fought before are now placed inside of a killing machine and thrown into a situation that quickly spins out of control, testing the mental toughness of the men inside of a confined space, with only the lens of a periscopic gun sight to see the madness outside. In Lebanon, writer-director Samuel Maoz has created a compelling, visceral drama in the tradition of Das Boot. Based on his...
- 1/12/2011
- by Buzzfocus Staff
- BuzzFocus.com
It is possible that a 90 minute movie based in a tank is one of the best of the year...
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After watching The Hurt Locker, I had an idea for a feature. The film would follow a tank crew almost entirely within the tank itself. It would depict the boredom, excitement and sheer fear of watching a war through the barrel of a cannon ala Das Boot. Having not seen Lebanon at the time (it was originally released in Israel back in 2009), I didn't know that Samuel Maoz already made this movie. Lebanon is also a lot better than I ever could have expected.
It begins in a sunflower field, a quiet and colorful environment. Then the urban warfare kicks in. By then we are in the tank, spending our time with 4 bickering crew members. The colors turn black and green. The oil of moving parts oozes onto the dials, all of which don't work.
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After watching The Hurt Locker, I had an idea for a feature. The film would follow a tank crew almost entirely within the tank itself. It would depict the boredom, excitement and sheer fear of watching a war through the barrel of a cannon ala Das Boot. Having not seen Lebanon at the time (it was originally released in Israel back in 2009), I didn't know that Samuel Maoz already made this movie. Lebanon is also a lot better than I ever could have expected.
It begins in a sunflower field, a quiet and colorful environment. Then the urban warfare kicks in. By then we are in the tank, spending our time with 4 bickering crew members. The colors turn black and green. The oil of moving parts oozes onto the dials, all of which don't work.
- 12/17/2010
- by FanboyCrew
Lebanon
Stars: Yoav Donat, Oshri Cohen, Reymond Amsalem, Michael Moshonov | Written and Directed by Samuel Maoz
With an increasing number of movies being released about conflict in Iran and the “war on terror”, Lebanon comes almost as a breath of fresh air, dealing as it does with a conflict much less in the prevalent in the hearts and minds of most viewers.
Based on the personal experiences of Israeli director Samuel Maoz, Lebanon focuses on the early days of the First Lebanon War, and in particular the occupants of one of the Israeli Defence Force tanks. Young private Shmulik enters the tank fresh from the training field and finds himself suddenly in a warzone. (The Idf were there ostensibly to keep the peace but found themselves attacked by Syrian terrorists). As the tank gunner he fumbles the first encounter with a hostile force, unable to shoot on people, and his...
Stars: Yoav Donat, Oshri Cohen, Reymond Amsalem, Michael Moshonov | Written and Directed by Samuel Maoz
With an increasing number of movies being released about conflict in Iran and the “war on terror”, Lebanon comes almost as a breath of fresh air, dealing as it does with a conflict much less in the prevalent in the hearts and minds of most viewers.
Based on the personal experiences of Israeli director Samuel Maoz, Lebanon focuses on the early days of the First Lebanon War, and in particular the occupants of one of the Israeli Defence Force tanks. Young private Shmulik enters the tank fresh from the training field and finds himself suddenly in a warzone. (The Idf were there ostensibly to keep the peace but found themselves attacked by Syrian terrorists). As the tank gunner he fumbles the first encounter with a hostile force, unable to shoot on people, and his...
- 9/3/2010
- by Sarah
- Nerdly
Writer-director Samuel Maoz exorcises his own trauma in his feature-film debut set during the initial 24 hours of the First Lebanon War in June 1982. Eschewing screenwriting conventions such as background, exposition and dramatic structure, he opts instead for an experiential approach from an extremely limited point of view. The effect is immediately claustrophobic, but the strategy quickly grows old: We can listen to a soldier piss within the confines of a tank only so many times before it starts to smell.
And that’s the limit of our experience: the confines of a tank. The audience is trapped inside with four twentysomething soldiers: Assi (Itay Tiran), the commander who struggles to control his men; Hertzel (Oshri Cohen), the troublemaking loader who is often mistaken for the leader; Shmuel (Yoav Donat), the gunner who has trouble pulling the trigger now that his targets are living, breathing human beings; and Yigal (Michael Moshonov), the naïve driver.
And that’s the limit of our experience: the confines of a tank. The audience is trapped inside with four twentysomething soldiers: Assi (Itay Tiran), the commander who struggles to control his men; Hertzel (Oshri Cohen), the troublemaking loader who is often mistaken for the leader; Shmuel (Yoav Donat), the gunner who has trouble pulling the trigger now that his targets are living, breathing human beings; and Yigal (Michael Moshonov), the naïve driver.
- 8/6/2010
- Moving Pictures Magazine
In Lebanon, Shmulik (Yoav Donat) is a gunner suddenly thrust into a tank with several strangers to fight in Israel's first war with Lebanon. There's a motto on a plaque inside the tank that reads, "Tanks are made of iron. Men are made of steel." As the movie progresses, the young soldiers show that, of course, men are made not of steel, but of flesh and blood. The viewer sees most of the movie through Shmulik's viewfinder; as we look through the periscope with him, we see his struggle to shoot or not to shoot, and the ensuing guilt that sets in either way. Writer/director Samuel Maoz had to dig deep into his memories of his experience as a gunner in Israel's first war with Lebanon for his first feature, which won the 2009 Venice International Film Festival's Golden Lion. Shmulik is, of course, a nickname for Shmuel; that is,...
- 8/2/2010
- TribecaFilm.com
One of the most horrifying aspects of humanity is his/her ability to wage war. Also, One of the most bloody wars began in June 1982 in Lebanon and lasted until September of that same year. This battle would leave 5,000 civilians killed and 20,000 wounded, with director and writer Samuel Maoz in the heart of the conflict. Now, Maoz tells a tale of his own experiences "serving in the Israeli army during the 1982 Lebanon War" in the feature film Lebanon (Melbourne). Lebanon will show at the 2010 Melbourne Film Festival, which begins July 22nd. The film's trailer is below and the clip shows the battle through the tank crew's eyes alone. Get set for Lebanon in Melbourne and many more films as this film festival gets set for a summer run.
The plot summary for Lebanon here:
"The First Lebanon War – June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that...
The plot summary for Lebanon here:
"The First Lebanon War – June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that...
- 6/29/2010
- by 28DaysLaterAnalysis@gmail.com (Michael Ross Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Just released in UK cinemas is the award-winning, highly-acclaimed Israeli war film Lebanon.
Director Samuel Maoz based the project - his first feature film - on his own experiences as a young conscript.
Distributed in the UK by Metrodome, Lebanon has picked up a whole clutch of accolades including the Golden Lion Award at the 2009 Venice Film Festival and the 14th Annual Satyajit Ray Award.
Below is the official synopsis and a trailer, plus some excellent interviews with the director, other crew and one of the actors that give a fantastic background and insight into the film and make fascinating reading.
Firstly, here's the official synopsis:
The First Lebanon War - June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israel Air Force. What seems to be a simple mission gets gradually out of control and turns into a death trap,...
Director Samuel Maoz based the project - his first feature film - on his own experiences as a young conscript.
Distributed in the UK by Metrodome, Lebanon has picked up a whole clutch of accolades including the Golden Lion Award at the 2009 Venice Film Festival and the 14th Annual Satyajit Ray Award.
Below is the official synopsis and a trailer, plus some excellent interviews with the director, other crew and one of the actors that give a fantastic background and insight into the film and make fascinating reading.
Firstly, here's the official synopsis:
The First Lebanon War - June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israel Air Force. What seems to be a simple mission gets gradually out of control and turns into a death trap,...
- 5/16/2010
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
This is the trailer for Lebanon, directed by Samuel Maoz and stars Reymond Amsalem, Ashraf Barhom, Oshri Cohen, Yoav Donat, Guy Kapulnik, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Shtrauss, Dudu Tassa and Itay Tiran. Lebanon is a personal film, a film about four boys who had never been involved in anything violent before and found themselves killing people. A film about survival against a palpable threat of death, a situation in which the conflict between their basic instincts and human conscious claims its victims.
- 5/16/2010
- by Dan Higgins
- Pure Movies
To build up the release of Lebanon, Pure Movies looks at other films where the main character 'loses it' including Apocalypse Now, Shutter Island, The Beach, Kids, Falling Down, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Shining. Lebanon is directed by Samuel Maoz and stars Reymond Amsalem, Ashraf Barhom, Oshri Cohen, Yoav Donat, Guy Kapulnik, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Shtrauss, Dudu Tassa and Itay Tiran.
- 5/15/2010
- by Georgie Hobbs
- Pure Movies
Lebanon (15)
(Samuel Maoz, 2009, Israel) Yoav Donat, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov. 93 mins
You can see why they made Top Gun about jet fighters. This is set entirely within the confines of an Israeli tank during the 1982 Lebanon war, and it's not much of a recruitment ad. The gimmick is both the movie's strength and its weakness. The space and visibility restrictions make this a neat minimalist thriller and a nervy, unpredictable combat experience, but it's one safely insulated from the questions – and victims – of the real-life conflict. Despite the sweat and grime, you feel like the really dirty stuff is going on elsewhere.
Robin Hood (12A)
(Ridley Scott, 2010, Us) Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max Von Sydow, Mark Strong. 140 mins
Scott attempts to pull another Gladiator, ditching the familiar tights and tropes and reimagining the legend through a combination of mangled history, epic set pieces and deadly earnest heroism. It's more of a prequel,...
(Samuel Maoz, 2009, Israel) Yoav Donat, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov. 93 mins
You can see why they made Top Gun about jet fighters. This is set entirely within the confines of an Israeli tank during the 1982 Lebanon war, and it's not much of a recruitment ad. The gimmick is both the movie's strength and its weakness. The space and visibility restrictions make this a neat minimalist thriller and a nervy, unpredictable combat experience, but it's one safely insulated from the questions – and victims – of the real-life conflict. Despite the sweat and grime, you feel like the really dirty stuff is going on elsewhere.
Robin Hood (12A)
(Ridley Scott, 2010, Us) Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max Von Sydow, Mark Strong. 140 mins
Scott attempts to pull another Gladiator, ditching the familiar tights and tropes and reimagining the legend through a combination of mangled history, epic set pieces and deadly earnest heroism. It's more of a prequel,...
- 5/14/2010
- by The guide
- The Guardian - Film News
At 6:15 Am on June 6th 1982, on the first day of the Lebanon War, Tel-Aviv born director Samuel Maoz killed a man for the first time in his life. By the end of that day he had killed many more. He was twenty years old. Twenty-five years later he wrote the script for the film Lebanon – his cinematic confession. In the intervening years he quieted the memories of that day behind denial and outbursts of violent anger. It was the only way he felt he could survive. Trained as a gunner for The Armored Corps of the Israel Defence Forces he had only practiced kill shots on barrels of gasoline. When he returned from the war his Mother embraced him, weeping with gratitude that he had been returned to her safe and sound:
“In fact, I did not come home at all. She had no idea that her son had...
“In fact, I did not come home at all. She had no idea that her son had...
- 5/13/2010
- by Emily Breen
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Last week, we got to interview the director of new movie, Lebanon which is released in cinemas 14th May. The movie is a hard hitting tale about the men inside one of the tanks and almost all of the film is shot from their claustrophobic story within the tank itself. What makes this movie all the more impacting is that it’s based on the real life experiences of director Samuel Moaz who has experienced the war first hand. The movie stars Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Strauss and Dudu Tassa.
Our interview will go up next week but in the meantime, here’s some images and the trailer from the movie which will tell you a little more about it.
Synopsis: The First Lebanon War – June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israel Air Force.
Our interview will go up next week but in the meantime, here’s some images and the trailer from the movie which will tell you a little more about it.
Synopsis: The First Lebanon War – June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israel Air Force.
- 5/3/2010
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The former Israeli tank gunner turned award-winning director talks about his controversial film, Lebanon, and why he's still in the line of fire
Samuel Maoz was 20 years old when he killed a man for the first time. It was 1982 and Israel had recently begun fighting a war against the Plo and Syria in Lebanon, a campaign which, although supposed to last for just three weeks, would continue, in various guises, for 18 bloody and horrifying years. Maoz, an Israeli soldier by dint of the fact that he was still doing his national service when the war began, was a member of the tank corps. Specifically, he was a gunner. At 6.15am on 6 June, in the stony hills of southern Lebanon, he looked down the sight of the gun of his rackety, ageing tank. In the crosshairs was a small truck. It was speeding down a dirt track towards him, its middle-aged...
Samuel Maoz was 20 years old when he killed a man for the first time. It was 1982 and Israel had recently begun fighting a war against the Plo and Syria in Lebanon, a campaign which, although supposed to last for just three weeks, would continue, in various guises, for 18 bloody and horrifying years. Maoz, an Israeli soldier by dint of the fact that he was still doing his national service when the war began, was a member of the tank corps. Specifically, he was a gunner. At 6.15am on 6 June, in the stony hills of southern Lebanon, he looked down the sight of the gun of his rackety, ageing tank. In the crosshairs was a small truck. It was speeding down a dirt track towards him, its middle-aged...
- 5/3/2010
- by Rachel Cooke
- The Guardian - Film News
Playing the role of a scared shi*less person in the fire-position in an uncomfortable tank, Lebanon is Yoav Donat's big screen debut. While this is very much a piece that features a foursome about to explode, Samuel Maoz makes a point out of emphasizing his character named Shmulik - in all of the chaos that reigns in this personal account. - #7. Yoav Donat Playing the role of a scared shi*less person in the fire-position in an uncomfortable tank, Lebanon is Yoav Donat's big screen debut. While this is very much a piece that features a foursome about to explode, Samuel Maoz makes a point out of emphasizing his character named Shmulik - in all of the chaos that reigns in this personal account. ...
- 12/13/2009
- by Ioncinema.com Staff
- IONCINEMA.com
There's been talk of an Israeli film set almost entirely in a tank today.. especially by Alex over at Firstshowing, and while I at first discounted it, our friend pokerface over at Cinema Beacon (who will be going back to Israel soon and we're going to be rooting for him to start a new film site there!) pointed the way to the trailer which looks damn fine. He even conjectured it will be Israel's submission to the Oscars and I'd bet he's right.
Description from Tiff website:
It's June of 1982, and four young Israeli soldiers are assigned to operate a single tank. Their first mission is to enter a civilian Lebanese village to clear it of possible Plo terrorists. Something goes horribly wrong, however, and the ensuing panic leads to miscommunication, death, destruction and hostages. All hell breaks loose around these young men as they face the perennial question: kill or be killed?...
Description from Tiff website:
It's June of 1982, and four young Israeli soldiers are assigned to operate a single tank. Their first mission is to enter a civilian Lebanese village to clear it of possible Plo terrorists. Something goes horribly wrong, however, and the ensuing panic leads to miscommunication, death, destruction and hostages. All hell breaks loose around these young men as they face the perennial question: kill or be killed?...
- 9/10/2009
- QuietEarth.us
- #3. Lebanon Director: Samuel Maoz Cast: Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov, Zohar StraussDistributor: Rights Available. Buzz: Another Golden Lion option at Venice this year, there are obvious comparisons between this debut and such recent examples as Beaufort and Waltz with Bashir, the difference is this first time filmmaker actually remembers the war. If he didn't make the film, Moaz's torture would have continued to god knows where. There is a lot of good product coming out of Israel this year - and this could be the country's selection as Best Foreign Language film. The Gist: "I had just turned 19 in May of 1982. Life was beautiful. I was in love. Then I was requested to go to a military base. They assigned me to be the gunman of a tank, the first one to cross the Lebanese border. It was supposed to be a one day mission. It
- 8/22/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
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