Beyond the Mountains and Hills
Israel, Belgium, Germany / 2016 / 90 min. / Director: Eran KOLIRIN
The third film by Eran KOLIRIN following "The Band's Visit" (07). At the heart of the film is David and his family. David was released from military service and has begun selling diet supplements. His daughter, Ifat, loves Lebanese music and bears no prejudices against Arabs. One night, she is invited by a young Arab man to come to his house, but she declines and returns home. Late that night, David takes a gun outside and fires into the darkness to vent feelings of discontent for the current state of affairs. The next morning, the body of an Arab is found. It is the young man who had invited Ifat.... This is an exceedingly ambitious film which brings to the fore present-day Israel's contradictions within its accumulated everyday portrayal of a family who, at first glance, live benevolently.
Tikkun
Israel / 2015 / 120 min. / Director: Avishai SIVAN
Haim-Aaron is a young, devoted seminarian of an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish School. One day, he suddenly loses consciousness in the shower. Falling into a coma, he is thought to have momentarily come close to death, but miraculously regains consciousness. After the incident, however, Haim-Aaron seems like a different person from before. He has lost interest in theology, changes his eating practices, and wanders the streets of Tel-Aviv; deeds that were unthinkable for the previous Haim-Aaron.... This film won the best feature award at the Jerusalem Film Festival as well as the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2015 and earned director Avishai SIVAN an international reputation. The many surrealistic visuals unfolding with monochromatic beauty are overpowering.
