A Second Generation program will be one of the highlights of the 27th Israel Film Fest, running April 18-May 2 in Beverly Hills.
(From the pages of the April 16 issue of Variety.)
The fest program will focus on the children of holocaust survivors. Uriel Sinai and Dana Doron’s docu “Numbered” (pictured above) will screen April 28 at the Saban Theater, paying homage to those offspring, with proceeds benefitting Holocaust survivors.
Fest encompasses more than 30 films, including features, docus and shorts, and will spotlight the American vision of Israeli life and culture.
IFF kicks off with the West Coast preem of “The Ballad of the Weeping Spring,” while Sherry Lansing will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Martin Landau who will take home the Career Achievement Award. Culminating with Eran Riklis’ “Zaytoun,” closing night will include Lifetime Achievement nods to Israeli comedians Shayke Levi and Gavri Banai from HaGashash HaHiver.
Israeli helmer Yariv Horowitz’s pic Rock the Casbah, which centers on a group of soldiers serving in Gaza during the first Intifada, will join the company of “Poli’s Final Sketch,” “God’s Neighbors,” “Dr. Pomerantz,” “Igor and the Crane’s Journey” and “Summers End.”
“The Israeli film industry has been on a great upswing these past few years with bigger, better and more high-profile movies than in its history,” said IFF founder and exec director Meir Fenigstein. “This year’s crop of exciting, fresh and smart pictures and programs is no exception, and they showcase the broad and yet divergent stories and personalities only Israel can produce.”
The fest runs at the Laemmle Music Hall and Laemmle Town Center 5, with special events at Saban.
“Numbered” Trailer:
http://vimeo.com/57316737
