Israeli Film Festival

Mon 5 Mar to Thu 8 Mar. 2020 West University Avenue, Gainesville. Rabbi Jonathan Siger, 352-372-2900. Hillel Foundation at the University of Florida - [ufhillel][email][events]

The festival will take place at Hillel from Monday, March 5, through Thursday, March 8, with free food and refreshments available each night.

The festival will take place at Hillel from Monday, March 5 to Thursday, March 8 , 8:00 pm free food and refreshments will be available each night. The schedule of the films is as follows:
Monday- Free Zone 2005
From the director Amos Gitay, Rebecca (Natalie Portman), an American who has been living in Jerusalem for a few months now, has just broken off her engagement. She gets into a cab driven by Hanna (Hanna Laslo), an Israeli. But Hanna is on her way to Jordan, to the Free Zone, to pick up a large sum of money that "the American", her husband's partner, owes them. Rebecca persuades Hanna to take her along. When they reach the Free Zone, Leila (Hiam Abbass), a Palestinian, explains that the American isn't there and that the money has vanished....
Tuesday- Campfire 2004
From the director Joseph Cedar (winner of six Israeli Academy Awards including Best Picture 2000), comes Campfire, a story of one woman's personal battle, but also a portrait of a political movement that has forever effected millions of lives in the Middle East.
The year is 1981. Rachel Gerlik a 42-year-old widow, mother of two beautiful teenage daughters, Esti and Tami, wants to join the founding group of a new religious settlement in the West Bank. The problem is that the acceptance committee won't accept her unless she remarries and proves that she and her daughters can meet the group's religious and ideological standards. When Tami, her youngest daughter, is accused of seducing some boys from her youth movement, Rachel is forced to weigh her alliances. Only Yossi, a 50 year-old bachelor, and the new man in Rachel's life, can show Rachel that living as an outcast is not as bad as it seems.
Wednesday- Operation Thunderbolt1977
Oscar nominated film by Menahem Golan based on the true story of the rescue mission led by a young Israeli Army officer, Jonathan "Yoni" Netanyahu that astounded the world. Yoni's brother, Benjamin Netanyahu would go on to become the Prime Minister of Israel. This film still stands today with the other films about the Entebbe rescue as an inspiration of what can be accomplished when heroic people of honor and determination, the Israel Defense Forces, come face to face with the forces of evil, in this case German and Palestinian terrorists. There is no fluff in this movie, just an honest portrayal of heroism by the innocent civilian hostages, the Air France flight crew and the IDF soldiers, pilots and flight crews. To truly define this film I would like to quote in part a letter from Benjamin Netanyahu which come with each 25th Anniversary DVD. "........The story of Yoni and his comrades in Entebbe sheds light on the other heroes of Israel, known and unsung alike, who through their sacrifice and courage delivered our people time and again from the abyss of disaster, in the wars of Israel as at Entebbe. I can only hope that their great spirit, as captured in this film, will serve to meet the great challenges that still await us."
Thursday- Someone to Run With 2006
Based on the best selling novel by David Grossman, directed by Oded Davidoff "Someone to Run With" captures the original's unrelenting pace, suspense and heartfelt drama as it sends viewers on a riveting ride through the streets of Jerusalem at the end of a Labrador's leash.
Assaf, a shy, awkward seventeen year old, is yanked from his mundane summer job and given an impossible task: to track down the owner of a lost Labrador found wandering the city streets. As he follows the dog on its circuitous rounds, Assaf begins to piece together the incredible story behind the owner's disappearance, a story that captures his imagination and draws him in: the story of a girl named Tamar. One month earlier, Tamar, a gifted musician, embarks with her dog on a desperate quest into Jerusalem's seamy underworld, and becomes ensnared in its dark clutches. Assaf, smitten by the mysterious girl he has never met, has no choice but to set off running after Tamar's footsteps.
The festival will take place at Hillel from Monday, March 5 to Thursday, March 8 , 8:00 pm free food and refreshments will be available each night. The schedule of the films is as follows:
Monday- Free Zone 2005
From the director Amos Gitay, Rebecca (Natalie Portman), an American who has been living in Jerusalem for a few months now, has just broken off her engagement. She gets into a cab driven by Hanna (Hanna Laslo), an Israeli. But Hanna is on her way to Jordan, to the Free Zone, to pick up a large sum of money that "the American", her husband's partner, owes them. Rebecca persuades Hanna to take her along. When they reach the Free Zone, Leila (Hiam Abbass), a Palestinian, explains that the American isn't there and that the money has vanished....
Tuesday- Campfire 2004
From the director Joseph Cedar (winner of six Israeli Academy Awards including Best Picture 2000), comes Campfire, a story of one woman's personal battle, but also a portrait of a political movement that has forever effected millions of lives in the Middle East.
The year is 1981. Rachel Gerlik a 42-year-old widow, mother of two beautiful teenage daughters, Esti and Tami, wants to join the founding group of a new religious settlement in the West Bank. The problem is that the acceptance committee won't accept her unless she remarries and proves that she and her daughters can meet the group's religious and ideological standards. When Tami, her youngest daughter, is accused of seducing some boys from her youth movement, Rachel is forced to weigh her alliances. Only Yossi, a 50 year-old bachelor, and the new man in Rachel's life, can show Rachel that living as an outcast is not as bad as it seems.
Wednesday- Operation Thunderbolt1977
Oscar nominated film by Menahem Golan based on the true story of the rescue mission led by a young Israeli Army officer, Jonathan "Yoni" Netanyahu that astounded the world. Yoni's brother, Benjamin Netanyahu would go on to become the Prime Minister of Israel. This film still stands today with the other films about the Entebbe rescue as an inspiration of what can be accomplished when heroic people of honor and determination, the Israel Defense Forces, come face to face with the forces of evil, in this case German and Palestinian terrorists. There is no fluff in this movie, just an honest portrayal of heroism by the innocent civilian hostages, the Air France flight crew and the IDF soldiers, pilots and flight crews. To truly define this film I would like to quote in part a letter from Benjamin Netanyahu which come with each 25th Anniversary DVD. "........The story of Yoni and his comrades in Entebbe sheds light on the other heroes of Israel, known and unsung alike, who through their sacrifice and courage delivered our people time and again from the abyss of disaster, in the wars of Israel as at Entebbe. I can only hope that their great spirit, as captured in this film, will serve to meet the great challenges that still await us."
Thursday- Someone to Run With 2006
Based on the best selling novel by David Grossman, directed by Oded Davidoff "Someone to Run With" captures the original's unrelenting pace, suspense and heartfelt drama as it sends viewers on a riveting ride through the streets of Jerusalem at the end of a Labrador's leash.
Assaf, a shy, awkward seventeen year old, is yanked from his mundane summer job and given an impossible task: to track down the owner of a lost Labrador found wandering the city streets. As he follows the dog on its circuitous rounds, Assaf begins to piece together the incredible story behind the owner's disappearance, a story that captures his imagination and draws him in: the story of a girl named Tamar. One month earlier, Tamar, a gifted musician, embarks with her dog on a desperate quest into Jerusalem's seamy underworld, and becomes ensnared in its dark clutches. Assaf, smitten by the mysterious girl he has never met, has no choice but to set off running after Tamar's footsteps.