Israeli submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
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- DirectorEphraim KishonStarsTopolGeula NuniGila AlmagorThe sharp, often hilarious satire that became the most successful film in Israeli history (until that time) is about new immigrants Sallah and his family, who are left in a shack near their promised apartment and are abandoned for months. A Yemenite Jewish family that was flown to Israel during "Operation Magic Carpet" - a clandestine operation that flew 49,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel the year after the state was formed - is forced to move to a government settlement camp. The patriarch of the family, portrayed by Chaim Topol, tries to make money and get better housing, in a country that can barely provide for its own and is in the midst absorbing hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab countries.
- DirectorPhilippe ArthuysJean-Louis Levi-AlvarèsStarsGeorges RivièreJean NégroniFrançoise PrévostA study of conscience set against the trial of Eichmann in Israel.
- DirectorIsrael BeckerStarsMike BurstynRaphael KlatchkinGermaine UnikovskyReb Kalman, the matchmaker comes home on Shabbat to find out that Reb Pinchas has been there. He learns that RebPinchas wants him to find a husband from a good family for his daughter Carolina. Carolina, however, is in love with Max, her French teacher. Pinchas finds them making out and is furious and even more adamant that she marry soon. Reb Kalman finds Kuni Lemel as a possible match. It turns out that Max and Kuni are cousins and are identical, except that Kuni is blind in one eye, limps, and stutters. Max plans to act like Kuni so that Reb Pinchas will have his daughter marry Max by mistake. The real Kuni Lemel shows up and has everyone confused.
- DirectorUri ZoharStarsYehoram GaonOded KotlerPier AngeliDuring the Six-Day War, an Israeli pilot, hoping to bring peace to his country, fly his plane towards Egypt to hopefully commiserate with Abdel Nasser. Shot down en route, he finds himself halfway between the Egyptian and Israeli armies.
- DirectorGilberto TofanoStarsEran AgmonGila AlmagorYael AvivStory of a war-widow pressured by her friends to behave in the role of the heroic widow, and the journey she takes in a country of people under siege.
- DirectorEphraim KishonStarsShaike OphirZaharira HarifaiAvner HizkiyahuOne of Israel's most beloved films, this film centers around the policeman Azulai, who is as kind as he as inept.
- DirectorMoshé MizrahiStarsMichal Bat-AdamGabi OttermanMoshe TalThe love of Nissim for his widowed sister-in-law, Rosa, in the Old City of Jerusalem at the turn of the century. Under a (very old) Jewish religious law, Nissim has the duty to marry his childless sister-in-law on the death of his brother.
- DirectorMoshé MizrahiStarsGila AlmagorShaike OphirYosef ShiloachA fatherless family immigrates to Israel from Egypt during the British Mandate period. The film traces the hardships the family suffers in the politically unstable country.
- DirectorDan WolmanStarsIrit AlterRuth FarhiOded KotlerBased on a novel by Amos Oz. A couple in Jerusalem before the six day war in 1967, fall in love, get married, have a child and drift apart. With Michael away at war, his wife starts fantasizing about twin Arabs she used to play with as a child.
- DirectorMenahem GolanStarsYehoram GaonGila AlmagorAssi DayanIn July 1976, an Air France flight from Tel-Aviv to Paris via Athens was hijacked and forced to land in Entebbe, Uganda. The Jewish passengers were separated and held hostage in demand to release many terrorists held in Israeli prisons. After much debate, the Israeli government sent an elite commando unit to raid the airfield and release the hostages. This movie is based on the true facts and follows the events since the flight's take-off and until the hostages' return to Israel.
- DirectorBoaz DavidsonStarsYftach KatzurAnat AtzmonJonathan SagallThree friends live their lives in 1950s Israel, each looking for someone to love.
- DirectorMichal Bat-AdamStarsMichal Bat-AdamBrigitte CatillonAssi DayanAnne, a Parisian, visits her friend Yola in Tel Aviv, where Yola lives with her husband Avi and their son. There's tension in the air and the attraction between the two women is palpable. Flash back five years to their meeting, on a train to Jerusalem. Yola invites Anne to stay at her hotel, and over the next five days, their friendship builds from talk about their lives to an explosive menage a trois when Avi joins them on fourth day. Back in the present, can Yola have both Avi and Anne, or are the women futilely chasing rainbows?
- DirectorMichal Bat-AdamStarsGila AlmagorAlexander PelegLiat PanskyExplores the relationship between an eleven-year-old girl and her ailing mother, who is losing a grasp of reality in the surrounding environment of insensitivity and cruelty.
- DirectorMira RecanatiStarsDina DoronRivka NeumanGad RollIn contemporary Tel Aviv, a mother and daughter confront each other after the death of the father/husband and the discovery of the dead man's secret affair. The daughter is drawn irresistibly to the "other" woman's son and torn between feelings of loyalty to her mother and distaste of the father's passionate past. The mother is tormented by the past betrayal and current jealousy. Each struggles to settle old debts as they both experience passion and pain, but grow to learn independence.
- DirectorDaniel WachsmannStarsShlomo TarshishYasein ShawafRuth GellerNamed after the hot desert wind that periodically blows through the Middle East sending temperatures and tempers soaring to potentially explosive heights. Set in an old farming village in the Galilee, the story revolves around inherited land ownership of Israelis and Arabs, of disappointed dreams, political tensions, and torn emotions as the clash between love and nationalism.
- DirectorIsaac Zepel YeshurunStarsYaron LondonMiri FabianRuth HarlapA Married Couple is a 1983 Israeli drama film directed by Yitzhak Yeshurun. The film was selected as the Israeli entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 56th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
- DirectorUri BarbashStarsArnon ZadokMohammad BakriHillel Ne'emanIn Israel's Central Prison, the security officer is corrupt, supplying drugs and stirring the hatred between Jewish and Arab prisoners to his advantage. Uri, in for 12 years for armed robbery, and Issan, in for 50 years for PLO violence, command the respect of their cells. When the Arabs are framed for the murder of a Jewish prisoner and a young inmate commits suicide rather than lie about what happened, Uri and Issan form an unlikely partnership, leading the security block on a strike. Prison officials try to break it. In the background are Uri's daughter and Issan's wife, women of beauty and passion who embody the distance from inside a cell to the outside.
- DirectorEitan GreenStarsAssi DayanYosef MilloOrna PoratA common crisis changes the complicated relationship between a father and his middle-aged son, both trapped in unhappy marriages.
- DirectorRafi BukaiStarsSalim DawSuhel HaddadTuvia GelberJune 11th 1967, the Six-Day War is over and the cease fire has just begun. We follow the journey of Gassan and Haled, two Egyptian soldiers whose only wish is to make their way through the Sinai desert and safely reach the Suez Canal. Thus begins a comical, almost surrealistic saga during which they meet various groups of people across the desert, including Israeli soldiers on patrol and a pushy news reporter.
- DirectorShmuel ImbermanStarsIka ZoharAnat WaxmanShmuel Vilozni
- DirectorEli CohenStarsGila AlmagorKaipu CohenEli CohenA ten year old girl spends her summer with her overly protective mother, a mentally scarred holocaust survivor, while hopefully trying to find her real father in the newly established state of Israel.
- DirectorUri BarbashStarsAlon AboutboulSharon AlexanderYoel Ben-SimhonA few Palestinian guerilla's break into an Israeli camp in the occupied territories. They kill a few Israeli soldiers before they are killed, apart from one who dies in the camp after being captured alive. The Israeli military despatch an investigator to the camp to see if there was cold blooded murder (people at the camp had claimed he was shot while trying to escape). It turns out that the investigator despatched is a friend of the camp commander - the rest of the plot is basically about the position of both of these characters as regards being honest or faithful to ones friends. There is unbearable tension, increased by the fact that they are both very strongly attracted to one of the female soldiers on the camp.
- DirectorSavi GabizonStarsMoshe IvgySharon HacohenSinai PeterComedy about life among Tel Aviv's 30-something bourgeoisie is nothing if not proof that self-absorbed, would-be hipsters are the same the world over. The central character is Asher, an unbecoming depressive and all-round schlemiel who publishes a book on 'How to Be an Idiot', and finds himself becoming the guru of a self-help circle. A liberal sprinkling of sight gags and non-sequiturs - and even a slight flavour of Almodóvar in the sexual absurdities - keeps things lively.
- DirectorJacob GoldwasserStarsUri AlterAryeh MoskonaDafna Rechter
- DirectorAssi DayanStarsGila AlmagorAkram TillawiSmadar KilchinskyThe film takes place in Tel Aviv, much of it in a fictitious local pub called Barbie, a satirical nickname for a famous Israeli mental health institution. The pub's name hints at the characters and the events which occur in the pub and which befall its owner (Daliah), the employees and customers. The plot unfolds with a streak of violence which takes a surprising turn.
- DirectorEnrique RottenbergStarsMoshe IvgyEsteban GottfriedDvora KedarItzik, a keychains importer living with his mother, is convinced by a Ghost Monk to take revenge on those who are responsible for his pathetic situation. Surprisingly, the collaboration with the monk improves Itzik's life.
- DirectorShmuel HasfariStarsGila AlmagorRonit ElkabetzEti AdarA Westernized teenager struggles to come to terms with the white magic practiced by members of her family.
- DirectorSavi GabizonStarsAvigail ArielyAsher AtlasHanna Azoulay HasfariThe touching story of Victor, who lives with his mother in the REALLY bad part of town and runs an illegal TV cable station. One day he sees the beautiful Michaela and falls madly in love with her. So desperate to make her love him back he finally snaps, and sits in the rain, all night, waiting for her. Placed in a mental institution for his own sake he meets several colorful characters, such as the mysterious Levanah with whom he becomes sexually involved. Finally, one day, Michaela comes to visit him...
- DirectorAri FolmanOri SivanStarsLucy DubinchikHalil ElohevJohnny PetersonThe year is 1999 and the storyline is actually a number of subplots all revolving around the 13-year old Clara, a girl who can predict the future and has telekinetic powers. The subplots include a boy in her class who has a crush on her, his family, her family, and her principal who keeps talking French for some strange reason.
- DirectorJulie ShlesStarsZvika HadarEsti ZakheimAryeh MoskonaDavid is a garage electrician, who dreamt all of his life of becoming a magician, but had no luck in it. His girlfriend Batya wants an ordinary life, but David is still looking for his dream, so he links up with Romanian immigrant Shimon, who is an expert magician.
- DirectorEyal HalfonStarsEvgenia DodinaYoram HattabAmos LaviWhen a small, run-down circus comes to a Palestinian town, it changes the lives of the West Bank villagers.
- DirectorArik KaplunStarsEvelyn KaplunNir LevyShmil Ben AriThree parallel strories of immigrants in Tel Aviv during the Gulf War and about coming together while sealed in a room during the Scud attacks.
- DirectorJoseph CedarStarsAki AvniTinkerbellIdan AltermanIs today's fanaticism tomorrow's policy? In a West Bank settlement, Rabbi Meltzer has a grand design: he's building a movement "to pray at the Temple Mount." His yeshiva has scholars, and the settlement is getting its own military company to be commanded by Menachem, a disciple of the rabbi. He also wants his daughter, Michal, to marry Pini, the yeshiva's best scholar. Michal has no interest in Pini, but she is attracted to Menachem. When she rebuffs Pini, he hatches a bold and secret plan. Is jealousy the motivation or something else? Meanwhile, the army and Mossad are closely watching the rabbi's activities and Menachem's military training. Who is trustworthy?
- DirectorDover KoshashviliStarsLior AshkenaziRonit ElkabetzMoni MoshonovZaza is a 31-year old Israeli bachelor, handsome and intelligent, and his family wants to see him married. But tradition dictates that Zaza has to choose a young virgin. She must be beautiful and from a good family, preferably rich. Zaza's parents, Yasha and Lily drag Zaza to meet potential brides and their families. Zaza has no choice. He plays along with his family, advocates of the suffocating traditions of their Georgian Jewish heritage. But Zaza always manages to somehow get out of being engaged. What his parents don't know is that Zaza is already in love. Judith is sensuous, strong and intriguing. She's also a divorcée with a 6-year-old daughter. So Zaza has kept Judith a secret from his family. He will have to choose between respect of the strict confines of family and tradition, or the love of his life.
- DirectorNir BergmanStarsOrly SilbersatzMaya MaronNitai GvirtzDaphne and her four children try to cope with the abrupt death of husband/father. As the family seems to fall apart, a sudden incident gives them a chance to heal their 'broken wings'.
- DirectorSavi GabizonStarsAyelet ZurerYoram HattabAlon AboutboulThe taboo relationship between young Nadav and his Aunt Nina transcends definition on its way to odd highs and lows.
- DirectorJoseph CedarStarsMichaela EshetHani FurstenbergMoshe IvgyThe story of one woman's personal battle for acceptance, but also a portrait of a political movement that has forever affected millions of lives in the Middle East.
- DirectorEyal HalfonStarsUri GavrielEvelyn KaplunAvi OriahSergey works for Franko and is responsible for the girls, Franko pays him to watch the girls. Sergey does not treat them very well.
- DirectorDror ShaulStarsTomer SteinhofRonit YudkevitzShai AviviSet in mid-70's, 12-year old Dvir Avni navigates between the equality values of his home-born Kibbutz and the relationship with his undermined mother, whom the Kibbutz members will to denounce.
- DirectorJoseph CedarStarsOshri CohenItay TiranEli EltonyoThe story of a group of Israeli soldiers stationed in an outpost prior to the withdrawal of forces of 2000.
- DirectorAri FolmanStarsAri FolmanRon Ben-YishaiRonny DayagAn Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
- DirectorScandar CoptiYaron ShaniStarsFouad HabashNisrin SiksikElias SabaAjami is the religiously mixed community of Muslims and Christians in Tel Aviv. These are five stories about the everyday life in Ajami.
- DirectorEran RiklisStarsMark IvanirGuri AlfiNoah SilverA tragi-comedy centered on the HR manager of Israel's largest industrial bakery, who sets out to save the reputation of his business and prevent the publication of a defamatory article.