In 2024, the Israeli Film Festival of Philadelphia marks its 28th year.

The Israeli Film Festival of Philadelphia is a celebration of Israeli culture, with the aim of enriching the American vision of Israeli culture and society through film. Each season, a slate of feature films and documentaries are selected to provide a diverse and impartial reflection of Israel.

It is our goal to be both entertaining and informative. Our program includes feature films, dramas, comedies and documentaries that are award-winning and have received wide recognition both in Israel and abroad. As a non-profit organization, the continuing success of the IFF is due, in large part, to support from various organizations and private donors.

The IFF is funded through ticket sales, personal and corporate contributions, as well as in-kind contributions. Organizational support is provided by The Center for Israel and Overseas, the Consulate General of Israel in New York,  and a wide array of community partners.

Schedule:

Saturday, April 6, 2024

8:45 pm: Seven Blessings

In Israel’s official entry for the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, Ayelet Menahemi’s Seven Blessings revolves around an eventful Jewish Moroccan family wedding and the traditional blessings that are pronounced during the ceremony, again at the reception, and then again for the next seven nights with loved ones hosting special dinners in the couple’s honor. Behind the facade of joie de vivre and togetherness, there are secrets, lies, and a painful old wound that forces them to confront the past while wrecking the present, all entwined in this acclaimed story about fury, forgiveness, and food. Added to the mix is a joyous comedy of errors and misinterpretation by numerous members of the family speaking multiple languages, spanning Hebrew, Arabic, French, and the French Moroccan dialect.

Location: Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Admission: General $20, Students and seniors $18  

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Sunday, April 7, 2024

3:00 pm: Generation 1.5

The massive Aliyah from the former USSR left an indelible mark on Israeli society. However, their integration into Israeli society was not without challenges and sacrifices. The film captures the profound narrative of the monumental exodus from the Soviet Union to Israel during the 1990s, as seen through the eyes of the “Generation 1.5”: those who were born in the USSR and immigrated to Israel as children or teenagers. Now, three decades later, fully assimilated adults, they grapple with their identity and sense of belonging in their adopted homeland. They contemplate the discrimination and racism experienced, the compromises made by them and their parents for assimilation, and question whether the profound life-altering shift was indeed worthwhile.

Location: Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Admission: General $15, Students and seniors $13  

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7:00 pm: Home

In this explosive true-crime drama, a newly married young man's ambition to open a computer store in his ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood begets a shocking clash of tradition versus modernity. Devout yeshiva student Yair (Roy Nik) tries to support his family with a new business, introducing outside technology into the cloistered community. Despite efforts to adhere to strict Haredi rules, he faces vehement opposition from the locals, leading to rising tensions, the threat of violence, and marital strain, culminating in a decisive showdown. Nominated for 9 Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Film, writer-director Benny Fredman's intense portrayal, based on personal experiences, offers a troubling yet potent commentary on the intersection of free will and religious dogmatism.

Location: Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Admission: General $15, Students and seniors $13  

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Tuesday, April 9, 2024

7:00 pm: The Child Within Me

Yehuda Poliker, one of Israel’s musical giants – in a retrospective meeting of his own life – stares calmly into the camera; sometimes with longing, sometimes with regret, but mostly lovingly. He watches rare archival footage, some of which are never before seen family home-videos. At times, he joins in on the guitar, accompanying that same stuttering, insecure young man looking back at him from the screen, or his parents singing Greek songs, and sometimes, he just sits silently and reminisces. In conversation between then and now, in conversation with his friend for the past 40 years, Eti Aneta Segev, images from Poliker’s life join one another as his touching music plays in the background. The images spark memories that transport us freely between the different junctures of his life.

Location: Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

Admission: General $15, Students and seniors $13  

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Saturday, April 13, 2024

8:45 pm: Running On Sand

Aumari, a young Eritrean refugee who lives in Israel washing dishes for a living, is caught by the immigration police, and deported to his country. At the last moment he manages to escape at the airport and runs straight into the hands of Maccabi Netanya's soccer fans that mistake him for the new, Nigerian striker who was supposed to land that day.

At a glance, Aumari morphs from a transparent refugee into the big star of a city that looks up to him to save the team from being kicked out of the league. There is only one problem: Aumari has no soccer talent. He does, however, have a talent to make friends, to make people laugh and come together. It is through these skills that he manages to make big changes in the team and even find love. However, when Aumari will go back to being a refugee will someone stand by his side, and will he manage, for the first time in his life, to stop running?

Location: PFS East, 125 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19106

Admission: General $15, Students and seniors $13  

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Sunday, April 14, 2024

4:00 pm: Children of Peace

Arabs and Jews have lived in ongoing conflict for over a century. A group of dreamers decided to challenge everything they know about their nationalities and histories and founded a village in 1970s Israel as a social experiment. The film follows the many children who were brought up in this unique environment. In this bold attempt to raise a new generation their internal struggles and the outside conflict challenged their revolutionary eco-system. The children of peace are now grown men and women dealing with the harsh reality of political turmoil, war and societal segregation.

Location: PFS East, 125 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19106

Admission: General $15, Students and seniors $13  

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7:00 pm: The Monkey House

Nominated for 11 Israeli Academy Awards, legendary Israeli director Avi Nesher's critically acclaimed film The Monkey House is a splashy cinematic gem melding a literary mystery, a rambunctious comedy, and a moving character study that follows the unexpected connection between two lost souls.

Set in the 1980s, this epic tale with hints of Almodóvar melodrama revolves around Amitay, a struggling writer living near a monkey park from which the movie gets its name. Envious of his more celebrated colleagues and yearning for Tamar, his childhood love now widowed, Amitay conceives a plan to revive his literary reputation. To orchestrate this comeback, he must find a young and ambitious researcher, or at least someone capable of pretending to be one. Enter Margo, a failed actress residing at her sister's home, who eagerly seizes this mysterious job opportunity. So begins the unlikely meeting of a desperate author and an eccentric young woman, a fateful encounter destined to change both of their lives.

Radiantly shot and beautifully performed, The Monkey House continues Avi Nesher’s exploration of Israeli society and history with his own unique vision, arriving at the irreverent humor and vibrant visual sense that has defined his work for decades. With an exceptional ensemble cast that also includes Avi Nesher regular Adir Miller in an all-time best performance, Shani Cohen, and a breakthrough role by Suzanna Papian making her feature film debut, The Monkey House shows a master storyteller in total control of his craft.

Location: PFS East, 125 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19106

Admission: General $15, Students and seniors $13  

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Date:
April 6-14, 2024

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