The Haifa Film Festival, which opens on Tuesday (Monday) and runs until September 28, this year offers a rich and exciting variety of cinematic works by renowned directors, such as Nanny Morty, Zhang Yimu, Celine Siama and Paul Schroeder.
During the festival there will also be panels and creative meetings, and there will be a tribute concert to the lovable composer Shehadeh Hanna, which will include special arrangements of the best works he has composed for films (such as "The Orchestra's Visit", "The Lemon Tree", "Let There Be Morning" and more).
In addition, there will be screenings of equal classics such as "The Phone Girl and the Detective", "Veronica's Double Life" and "Harold and Maude".
Please note that this year some of the movies will also be available to watch online.
Among the many films waiting for you on the Carmel, you will also find the new winner at the Cannes Film Festival, "Titan", "Vihi Boker" by Eran Kolirin, the "Victory Picture" by Avi Nesher, the short film "The Human Voice" by Pedro Almodóvar starring Of Tilda Swinton, and the acclaimed Oscar-winning animated film "Wolfwalkers."
Here are five more movies from the show that are worth noting.
"Street Gang: How We Came to Sesame Street"
A charming documentary,
Probably the safest bet at this year's festival.
A charming, warm and nostalgic documentary, which tells the story of the revolutionary, ingenious and wonderful children's series - "Sesame Street".
Fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses, in-depth interviews with all the significant figures in the series' creation, including with puppet inventor Jim Hanson and legendary director John Stone (both of whom have passed away), and fascinating insights into how the television medium can be used to do good in the world .
In order not to ruin the fun, the film elegantly ignores the popular furry character Elmo (perhaps because the puppeteer who operated it was accused in 2012 of having sex with minors).
Nor is there any mention of the transition from "Sesame Street" from a public channel open to everyone to the HBO cable channel, which is only available to subscribers.
Not bad.
"Zodiac"
Entertaining and touching,
Successful Japanese director Ryosuka Hagucci presents three intelligent and surprising stories about love, passion, coincidence and destiny.
In the first, a young woman decides to visit her ex after a conversation in which her friend tells her about a successful date.
In the second, a failed student convinces his mistress to seduce the professor who gives him bad grades.
Whereas on Tuesday, a woman who comes to a menstrual session encounters someone who was very significant to her in her youth.
The Zodiac Award, which won the Jury Prize at the last Berlin Film Festival, is a delicate and beautiful film that uses sharp dialogues and diverse creative tricks (role-playing games, for example) to present a complex and sober picture of a romantic lack of fulfillment.
The twisted and melancholy stories that the Maguchi weave touch on a variety of emotional issues, raising provocative questions that relate to the life paths we choose (and do not choose) for ourselves.
Entertaining, touching and thought-provoking.
"Riders of Justice"
Original revenge movie, ROLF KONOW
An original and unusual revenge film, which manages to be both very funny and heartbreaking.
Earlier this year, we saw super-actor Mads Mickelsen do an amazing role in the Oscar-winning drunken comedy "Another Round."
Here he plays an equally amazing role as Marcus - a Danish military man whose wife is killed in a mysterious explosion.
With the help of three eccentric computer geniuses, Marcus sets out to settle accounts with the people responsible for her death.
But thanks to some brilliant moves by screenwriter-director Anders Thomas Jensen, the above-mentioned operation is carried out in a very different way than you would expect. Most in the world, by a considerable margin.
"Benedetta"
Extreme, wild and refreshing,
A shocking and amusing religious / sexual melodrama created by the scandalous director Paul Verhoeven ("Basic Instinct", "Amusement Girls", "Robocop"). The story takes place in a monastery in Tuscany during the Black Death, and deals with Benedetta - a beautiful young nun who suffers from erotic and religious visions, and in whose surroundings miracles sometimes take place. Things get complicated when she breaks up in a stormy and forbidden affair with one of her sisters to the parade.
As might be expected, 83-year-old Rehoven approached the church institution with a gentleness reserved for an elephant entering a hot tub.
The result is an extreme, wild and refreshing sexploitation film that does not take prisoners.
Virginia Afira, who stars as Benedetta, presents an effective and self-aware performance, and the scenes in which she goes head-to-head with the convent mother (Charlotte Rampling) are a real treat.
"Bandetta," which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, may not be remembered as one of the highlights of Verhoeven's career, but at a time when Hollywood production has been purified of any trace of sex, and most filmmakers are making exaggerated efforts not to offend anyone - how good it is to be here.
"Fig"
Nicholas Cage at his best,
Nicholas Cage gives one of his most successful appearances in recent years as a majority - a mysterious truffle hunter who lives in a secluded cabin in the Oregon forests, with his beloved hog (which helps him find the precious mushrooms). After the return is stolen, Rob hooks up with a young and arrogant business partner (Alex Wolf) and goes out to locate her. The above synopsis led many to think that "Pigg" was going to be another variation of "John Wick" (with a pig instead of a dog), but that screenwriter-director Michael Sarnowski had other plans. His debut film contains almost no violence, its pace is slow And the atmosphere is thoughtful and sad.Although the half-baked plot becomes more and more ridiculous as it goes on, Cage's majestic and haunted presence gives the film soul and helps justify the viewing (and Alex Wolf, who provides support, again proves to be one of the most interesting young actors around).