iff.site.wesleyan.eduIsraeli Film Festival

Open main Close left shield right shield About Admission & Aid Academics Life @ Wesleyan Visit News & Events Athletics Give Alumni Parents Directory Tools WesPortal Library OneStop Calendar WesMaps Search Search the Site Go Menu About Featured Clips Past Festivals Spring 2023 Festival Spring 2022 Festival Spring 2021 Festival Spring 2020 Festival Spring 2019 Festival Spring 2018 Festival Spring 2017 Festival Spring 2016 Festival Spring 2016 Recordings Spring 2015 Festival Spring 2015 Recordings Spring 2014 Festival Spring 2014 Recordings Spring 2013 Spring 2012 Spring 2011 Spring 2010 Spring 2008 Spring 2006 Poster Gallery Spring 2024 Festival The dates for the screenings are January 31 – March 6. (Every Wednesday) . All movies will be screened at the Wesleyan University Center for Film Studies, at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies in the Goldsmith Family Cinema, 301 Washington Terrace, Middletown, CT at 8pm. Free Admission. On site parking. The Festival is organized by Dalit Katz, University Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Wesleyan University. It is sponsored by the Ring Family, the Center for Jewish Studies, and co-sponsored by the College of Film and the Moving Image. NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE The Monkey House (January 31, 8:00 p.m.) Speaker : Michael Slowik, Associate Professor of Film Studies, Wesleyan University Directed by: Avi Nesher, 2022 Watch trailer Amir Haddad, a filmmaker, stumbles upon a complex scam, concocted by a novelist, Amitai Kariv and Margo Mai, a young woman who is ghost writing Kariv’s biography. Haddad considers this encounter fodder for a docu-thriller, one that features much passion and deceit. Kariv, not a nemesis to be taken lightly, takes exception to Haddad’s investigation. Margo Mai seems to be playing on both sides. Hostilities ensue. When narratives collide, truth is an immediate victim. CONNECTICUT PREMIERE The Future (February 7, 8:00 p.m.) Speaker: Marc Longenecker, Associate Professor of the Practice in Film Studies, Wesleyan University Directed by Noam Kaplan, 2023 Watch trailer When Israel’s Minister of Space and Tourism is murdered in the lead-up to the country’s first mission to the moon, Yaffa (Samar Qupty), an Arab university student from the West Bank, confesses to the murder. Scientist Nurit (Reymond Amsalem) asks for permission to interview the assassin. As the pioneer of The Future Project, an algorithm-based program meant to predict acts of terrorism, Nurit is convinced that the unrepentant Yaffa is withholding her whole motivation. The two women face off, determined to give nothing away, over a potentially fraught series of encounters. As the truth is exposed — and the spacecraft carrying a nation’s dreams nears its destination — an increasingly disillusioned Nurit inches towards a profoundly troubling realization. CONNECTICUT PREMIERE The Other Widow (February 14, 8:00 p.m.) Director’s Talk: Ma’ayan Rypp Directed by Ma’ayan Rypp, 2023 Watch trailer A dark comedic drama about Ella, a 34-year-old theater dresser and mistress, who experiences the sudden death of her lover. She attends his Shivah (a Jewish mourning ritual) while keeping her identity under wraps and dives into a world once forbidden to her. Through intimate encounters with his brother, parents, and, most especially, his wife, she examines her place in his life and eventually demands her legitimate right to mourn. NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE Elik & Jimmy (February 21, 8:00 p.m.) Director’s Talk: A taped interview between Avner Shavit and Gudis Schneider Directed by Gudis Schneider, 2022 Watch trailer Jimmy and Elik meet while serving in the army, just before completing their service. He is an overweight and witty corporal; she is a beautiful and smart officer and they both like to talk. They run into each other through the years in cities, over Facebook, and such, but only a decade later, when they’re both 30 plus, after a few life lessons, do they really become friends. Everything is going well between them, until love gets in the mix. Golda (February 28, 8:00 p.m.) Speaker: Peter Rutland, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University Directed by Guy Nattiv, 2023 Watch trailer Israeli only female prime minister, Golda Meir, struggled to fight for her people and restore peace to her nation, facing difficult decisions and overwhelming responsibilities during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 in which Israel fought a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE Seven Blessings (March 6, 8:00 p.m.) Film Producer’s Talk: Ronen Ben Tal Directed by Ayelet Menahemi, 2022 Watch trailer At the center of Seven Blessings” is a boisterous, drama-filled, Moroccan family, with numerous members speaking multiple languages (Hebrew, Moroccan, French). Hidden behind the facade of joie de vivre and togetherness, however, are secrets, lies, and a painful old wound from the past regarding a common practice among Jewish families in Morocco. © 2024 Wesleyan...