|
 AICE Israeli Film Festival
Palace Centro
39 James St
Fortitude Valley
Until Sept 5
3852 4488
For the first time ever the AICE Israeli Film Festival, an annual fixture in major cities around the world has come to Brisbane, giving audiences a chance to get a new and largely intense cinematic perspective. And this 2012 AICE Israeli Film Festival features prize winners from prestigious festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Jerusalem and San Sebastian, as well as winners from the 2011 Ophirs (Israeli 'Oscars').
Of the twenty films collated for the festival highlights include:
Restoration – The opening night choice is an elegant piece of restrained storytelling about a furniture restorer father and his lawyer son who clash over the future of Dad's business after his partner dies. A mysterious apprentice the age of his son is hired, who becomes a threat to the son's relationship with his father and his wife, with the film exploring in depth the nature of fatherhood, values and the willingness to embrace change.
The Other Son – Equal parts comedy and heart-wrenching drama as only the Israelis can manage, this one starts with a young man who is about to join the army when a blood test shows that he is not his parents' biological son. And if that's not world shattering enough further investigation reveals he is in fact a Palestinian who was inadvertently swapped at birth – see the film to find out what happens next.
My Lovely Sister – A poignant melodrama about sibling rivalry, reconciliation and ghosts of the past, this tale is based on an old folk tale and set in an impoverished town in present-day Israel. A woman had not spoken to her sister, who had been banished from the family for marrying an Arab fisherman for twenty years and after her sister dies of a broken heart the sour and bitter woman is forced to confront the ghost of the past.
Metallic Blues – An Israeli box office star in 2005, this is offbeat quirky tale is about a car dealer who buys a vintage Cadillac for a song and has the idea to go to Germany and sell it for a huge profit. And so he embarks on a road trip with his offsider, friend and business partner which quickly turns into the trip from hell. As the son of Holocaust survivors the man must come to terms with a whole lot of family history in the context of a modern Germany.
Out of the Blue – A comedy of manners based on a kind of reverse Cinderella story, this one's about a married-with-children junk man who has a recurrent dream about making love to a mysterious red-headed woman – until one day he spots her in real life – in his wife's fashion magazine. An intense pursuit ensues, in which he ends up meeting her but she falls in love with his sidekick and business partner who in turn is in love with someone else.
Dolphin Boy – This documentary, filmed on real time over four years, is an inspirational story about the healing powers of nature and love. A 17 year old Israeli Arab, rendered mute after an attack that almost cost him his life, is introduced to dolphin therapy by his father, as a last resort before psychiatric hospitalization. A slow and at times painful recovery ensues, with all kinds of unexpected twists and turns before the conclusion.
|
