Science fiction and fantasy writer Lavie Tidhar turns to the very real history of Israel in his latest novel, Maror. This is not the first time Tidhar has used Israel as a setting for his work. But his award-winning Central Station is set around a Tel Aviv spaceport, and the multiversal Unholy Land imagines a…
Raja (Mariya Belkin) and Victor Frankel (Vladimir Friedman), a couple in their 60s, were the unsung heroes of Russian cinema. For several decades they had dubbed Hollywood epics into Russian for cinema audiences. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, the couple left Russia and migrated to Israel. But like thousands of…
Not everything is spelt out in writer-director Itay Tal’s drama God of the Piano. In Israel, Anat (Naama Preis), makes a shocking decision in hospital after receiving unexpected news following the birth of her son. The daughter of an elite piano teacher, Arieh (Ze’ev Shimshoni) Anat never reached his heights, despite her talent. She never…
A hard working wife and mother has her life is turned upside down in Michal Aviad’s Working Woman. Orna (Liron Ben Shlush) is happily married to Ofer (Oshri Cohen). They have three young children. Two months ago, Ofer opened a restaurant, but the business is struggling. Middle-aged businessman Benny (Menashe Nov) offers Orna work selling…
A sensitively woven tale of love and loss, The Cakemaker leaves an indelible impression. Thomas (Tim Kalkhof), a young German baker, is having an affair with Oren (Roy Miller), an married Israeli man who frequently visits Berlin on business. When tragedy befalls Oren in Israel, Thomas travels to Jerusalem seeking answers regarding his death. Under…
A sensitive drama with a mystery at its core, the Israeli feature The Kind Words combines humour and pathos. At age 35, Dorona’s (Rotem Zissman-Cohen) life seems to have hit a dead-end. She can’t have children, she’s abandoned attempts at adoption and she seems intent on pushing her loving husband, Ricky, as far away as…
