Jerusalem International Film Festival

I was siting in the restaurant at the Cinemateque in Jerusalem, pondering some of the films I had recently seen at this year's Jerusalem International Film Festival, and was awed by the scenery around me.

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To the east, a stone's throw away, towered the walls of the Old City. To the north, and slightly to the west, I could see the King David Hotel, the home for many of the world's leaders when they visit Israel. And just beyond the Cinemateque lay the Sultan's Pool, a bowl in the earth’s landscape that contains seating for thousands of people and the site of the opening ceremonies a short time before. Opening night featured a spectacular fireworks display, a tribute to the Jerusalem Festival's founder and leader, until this year, Lia Von Leer; and a presentation of the somewhat charming and romantic film, WALL-E. Also present were the President of Israel, Shimon Peres, and tribute was paid to British director, Michael Winterbottom, a retrospective of whose work was being shown at this year's festival. And thus the Jerusalem Film Festival began. The Cinemateque has four auditoriums in which films are screened all day during the festival, including Friday nights and all day Saturday. The weather was ideal, although the July sun in Israel can be oppressively hot, but the sky was always blue and there was never a cloud in sight. The evenings in Jerusalem were delightfully cool with a refreshing breeze blowing across the city--ideal conditions for the evening receptions and musical interludes provided by the festival. Despite the ideal conditions, the films at this year’s Festival were unspectacular. Only four Israeli feature films debuted at the Festival and they did not hit the heights of past years. This year's Festival films included 7 Days, an ensemble piece focussing on the feuds and problems faced by a large Iraqi Jewish family when the father passes away. For My Father, dealt with an Arab terrorist plot to blow up the main market in Tel Aviv. Something goes wrong with the detonator and the bomber has to go into a Jewish shop to get it replaced.. The spare part won't arrive until after the Sabbath, and in the meantime, the bomber gets to know the people living in the area. Out of the Blue was a throwback to the comedies of Israeli funny man, Shai K. Ofir , who starred in many screwball comedies of the 60s and 70s, with Alon Aboutboul and Moshe Ivgy in the lead roles. It was cute. Bruruah, is based on an old legend from the second century about the time when rabbis declared women to be "light-minded". In modern times, we have another Bruriah, and she definitely is not "light-minded". The film deals with egalitarianism in the Jewish religion, as well as ancient myths and modern cultural clashes. The festival also premiered a number of Israeli documentaries. Unfortunately, the festival was not as well organized as it should have been. Between the time the schedule went on-line and the time the programme book was printed, a number of changes in screening times took place, knocking my carefully prepared schedule out of whack. So I could not see all the films I wanted to. But of all the documentaries I did see, The Green Dumpster Mystery, was my favourite. It follows a young Israeli who discovers photos and documents in a garbage dumpster and who sets about to discover who these people are and why their possessions were thrown out. A truly heart-rending film. The festival prides itself on the number of films from around the world that it screens. This year was no exception. I managed to catch several French films, an interesting Danish film, a film from Australia and a strange American film. By the time the festival came to a close, I was festivalled out. But it did provide an interesting experience and, as Programme Coordinator of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, it provided me a look at how festivals are conducted in another country. I'll certainly be bringing my experiences home with me and will use them as I go to some of the many festivals presented in Toronto and as I work to prepare for our own Festival in April.