Mrs. G. (2019)

documentary

Stockholm (2018)

series, comedy

18th Annual Israeli Film Festival

Pioner Cinema and the Embassy of Israel in Moscow present the 18th annual Israeli Film Festival, which will take place from 12-15 September. Every year, it becomes more and more interesting to follow the progress of Israeli film — the mastery and quality of the films and television presented only grow, and Israel’s presence on the world film scene is becoming more and more noticeable. A unique sense of humor, irony, passion, penchant for introspection and the endless search for self, superhuman energy and original viewpoints: these characteristics all allowed Israeli film to become one of the most discussed genres in the world today, garnering the most important nominations and prizes from the Oscars to Cannes and Venice. The festival program this year features exciting premieres, international festival favorites, major arthouse hits, and an evening screening of a new, important Israeli television show.

At the opening ceremony on 12 September, audiences will see Avi Nesher and Jonathan Mordechay’s new film, “The Other Story,” from the international program at the Toronto Film Festival: a film that tells a story about the eternal conflict between fathers and sons, religion and freedom, and public and private interests.
 The festival will feature another special event: a Pioner Night featuring the new Israeli miniseries, “Stockholm”: a dark comedy that was previously presented at the Toronto International Film Festival and other prestigious screenings. Everything begins with the death of the protagonist, a leading economist, whose friends decide to hide his passing after they find out about it so that he could finally receive a Nobel Prize.

The program also features two films that treat relevant women’s issues. “Working Woman” (Isha Ovedet) tells the story of its heroine’s fight against harassment at work, and “Mrs. G.” brings the summer mood to the screen as a vivid and exciting biopic about Lea Gottlieb, the stunning woman who created beach fashion as we know it today and first turned bathing suits into attractive fashion accessories.

The festival will come to a close with the genre-defying “Etgar Keret: Based on a True Story,” a portrait of the legendary figure in Israeli literary history. The film’s creators study why and how storytelling became an important aspect of Keret’s life.

All of the festival’s screenings will take place at Pioner Cinema on Kutuzovsky Prospekt. Apart from the screenings, guests also have the opportunity to visit public talks and discussions about subjects connected with this year’s films.

All films will be showed in their original language with Russian subtitles.

Yana Kotlyar-Gal, cultural attache of the Embassy of Israel in the Russian Federation:
 “Israelis love and know how to tell stories. This might be why films by Israeli directors are winning prizes at international film festivals more and more often, while Israeli television series are enjoying higher demand around the world.
 I hope that thanks to the films in this festival’s program, contemporary life in Israel will get a little easier to understand for Russian audiences, which will be an important step in the cultural connections between our countries.”