Israeli films triumphed in both international competitions during last year's edition of the festival - Nati Baratz, the director of "The Unmistaken Child", about the search for the next incarnation of the Buddhist lama, left Krakow with the Golden Horn, and Moshe Zimerman won the Golden Dragon for his controversial "Pizza in Auschwitz". The Israeli cinema has also been much appreciated around the world. It is enough to mention the Oscar-nominated "Waltz with Bashir" or moving "Lebanon", which won last year at the festival in Venice.
"As in the previous years, this year the Israeli films constitute a strong representation for the competition"- says Krzysztof Gierat, Festival Director - "Three documentaries will compete for the Golden Horn, and two feature films - for the Golden Dragon. However, the number of excellent films which we have seen at the foreign festivals and during the selection, made us honour the Israeli cinema with an additional special section, called Focus on Israel."
The "Focus on Israel" section is meant to bring the Israeli cinema closer to the audience and build a platform for cooperation among filmmakers from both countries. The audience will see 8 latest feature-length documentaries (all made in 2009), and the representatives of the film industry will meet on a conference devoted to possible common project. Israeli filmmakers, producers, distributors and managers of the most important festivals are awaited in Krakow. They will present the models of production, distribution and promotion of films from Erec Israel. During the meeting, the coproduction market CoPro will also be summed up. It takes place from 24th-30th May 2010 in Tel Aviv, and the Polish producers will present the projects of documentary films to the representatives of television channels and film foundations from Israel. Krakow Film Foundation, the organizer of the 50th KFF, is also one of the organizers of CoPro.
The organizers announce that in the future Krakow Film Festival will host national cinema of a different countries every year, trying to bring closer the short and documentary films from a given region.
"Focus on Israel" is the survey of the latest Israeli documentary cinema, and includes screenings of 8 films touching upon very diverse topics - from global issues such as anti-Semitism or religious matters to private stories about personal tragedies and choices of an ordinary man.
The survey will consist of:
YES, MISS COMMANDER! (Ken Amafakedet), dir. Itzik Lerner, Dan Setton
Military base in Galilee conducts a special training programme addressed to young men from pathological environment. The privates undergo exhausting military training, which is intended to make them change their attitudes to life. Confrontation with the cadre of commanders, who are young women of impeccable past, puts the men in a difficult situation, in which they must undertake a real trial of obedience.
DEFAMATION (Hashmatsa), dir. Yoav Shamir
What does the word anti-Semitism mean today? To what extend this word is overused? After over sixty years from the Holocaust, the second generation of Jewish survivors looks for the answer to this question. Yoav Shamir traverses the world in search of the sources of today's anti-Semitism, discovers how Jews of different descent and beliefs measure themselves against the common past.
HOTEL DIPLOMAT (Diplomat), dir. Dana Goren
Hotel "Diplomat" was built as one of the most luxurious hotels in Jerusalem. At the beginning of 1990s, the Israeli government, in reply to the mass migration of people from the areas of the former Soviet Union, renamed it as the temporary adaptation centre. Today, after sixteen years, the hotel became the new home for six hundred immigrants. These are some of them.
THE PRISONER (Ha'asir), dir. Asaf Sudry
Benny has just left prison and tries to rebuild his contact with the family. He quickly sees for himself that the people, who used to be close to him, lead new lives and do not want to change them. Will our protagonist be capable of living honest life after so many years spent in prison? Will he be able to get close to his ex-wife and daughter?
HOW MUCH LOVE (Kama ahava), dir. Kineret Hay-Gillor
Carmel was once a promising athlete, today, due to progressive muscular atrophy he runs a small shop with sports equipment. His wife, Sara, helps him with everyday chores. The film's author - Kineret Hay-Gillor - portraying the struggles of her parents with the father's illness, draws a poignant picture, touching the topic of human devotion and love.
DARK MAN (Asmar), dir. Iris Rubin
Teenage Noga, born and brought up in Israel, meets a handsome emigrant from Iran - Rahamim. In spite of definite protests of the family, the young people meet in secret, exchanging love letters during film shows. After forty-three years spent together, the married couple reminisces upon the difficult and joyful moments in the marriage, talking to their daughter - the film's director.
LONE SAMARITAN (Shomroni Boded), dir. Barak Heymann
When a Samaritan has to choose between a sect or the family, no decision seems right. Baruch and Toya Tzedaka were excluded from the community, because they did not renounce their daughter, who reached for the forbidden fruit - married a man from outside of the sect. Should the necessity of observing a strict tradition cause conflict with human impulses?
BLOOD RELATION (Kirvat Dam), dir. Noa Ben Hagai
Browsing the letters of the late grandmother, Noa learns about the existence of relatives, about whom she has not known. She decides to renew the family ties and to unravel the mystery of Pnina, who disappeared in 1940s and for many years there was no sign of life from her. Noa comes in touch with her family, living in Palestine. The problem begins when one of Pnina's daughters wants to return to Israel. The blood ties are not enough to keep the family together.
Contact for media:
Anna E. Dziedzic
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Krakow Film Festival
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