The 36th ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles, which celebrates the best of Israeli culture and cinema, will run November 13th – 26th, 2024.
Come Closer, written and directed by Tom Nesher in her feature film directorial debut, will have its West Coast Premiere at the Festival’s Opening Night Gala. Soda, directed by Erez Tadmor, will have a special sneak preview as the Festival’s Sponsor Centerpiece Film Event. At this year’s opening ceremony, Ynon Kreiz, Mattel Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who has transformed the company and spearheaded its global blockbuster film, Barbie, will be presented with the 2024 IFF Industry Leadership Award. Actor/Comedian Shaike Levi will receive the 2024 IFF Lifetime Achievement Award at the Closing Night ceremony. Meir Fenigstein, founder and executive director of the ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL made the announcement today. The Festival chairwoman is Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, CEO and Group Publisher of Variety. The Festival honorary chairman is Arnon Milchan, Founder of New Regency.
Kreiz will be honored on November 13th at the Festival’s Opening Night Gala followed by the West Coast Premiere of Come Closer at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. Soda will screen on November 18th at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. Levi will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award on November 26th during the Closing Night festivities at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills.
Festival screenings will also show at the Laemmle Royal Theatre (West Los Angeles) and the Laemmle Town Center 5 (Encino). To purchase tickets for the Opening Night Gala and all screenings, as well as to participate in Q&As and meet the attending Israeli filmmakers, visit: www.israelfilmfestival.com starting November 5, 2024.
This year many organizations are sponsoring select screenings as community partners during the Festival. This includes:
Adam & Gila Milstein Family Foundation
American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU)
American Friends of the Jaffa Institute
Americans for Ben Gurion University
American Friends of Magen David Adom
Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles
Craig Emanuel & Creative Community for Peace
David & Sheryl Wiener & the Holocaust Museum LA
EL AL Israel Airlines
Factor’s Famous Deli
Jack Gottlieb & World Jewish Heritage Fund
Josh Shachar/Engineered Magnetics and Haifa University Alumni
Israeli House
Israel Ministry of Tourism
Jewish Federation Los Angeles
JNF – Arts and Entertainment Task Force
OpenDor Media
The Rubinstein Family Foundation & The Cornerstone Village
UCLA Nazarian Center for Israel Studies
USC DORNSIFE
Winkler Lowy family Foundation & Bais Jacob School For Girls
For the first time, the Festival will have a panel of Israeli-American producers to discuss the option of co-productions between the U.S and the Israeli film industries. This private event is sponsored by the Israel Cinema Project-Rabinovich Foundation and will take place on November 15th at noontime at the Crescent Theater in Beverly Hills.
Among the highlights for this year’s 36th ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles:
COME CLOSER is a 2024 Israeli-Italian drama film written and directed by Tom Nesher in her directorial debut. After winning the Ophir Award for Best Picture (as well as Best Director), it was officially selected as the Israeli entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards 2025. The film stars Lia Elalouf (who won Best Actress) and Darya Rosenn with Ido Tako, Yaakov Zada-Daniel and Netta Garti. It is about a troubled young woman who becomes obsessed with her deceased brother’s girlfriend after his sudden death.
HALISA, directed by Sophie Artus, is about a nurse played by Noa Koler, who has been trying to get pregnant and ends up being gifted with the baby from one of the young women in her care. The film received an Ophir Award Best Film nomination.
HIGHWAY 65, directed by Maya Dreifuss, is the story of a tough, tactless police detective investigating a murder in a small town. The film received an Ophir Award Best Film nomination.
THE MILKY WAY, directed by Maya Kenig, is the story of a young mother who sells her breast milk to a wealthy family. The film received an Ophir Award Best Film nomination.
SODA, directed by Erez Tadmor, is the story about a beautiful seamstress (Rotem Sela) who moves to Tel Aviv in the 1950s and is rumored to have been a Nazi collaborator. A former brave resistance fighter is torn between his passion to the beautiful woman and his commitment to the community to reveal her past. The film also stars Lior Raz.
SEVEN BLESSINGS, directed by Ayelet Menahemi. As a child, Marie was given to her barren aunt by her mother, a common practice in the past. Decades later, she returns from France for her wedding. The Seven Blessings, a traditional week of meals, is planned by her large Jewish Moroccan family, but past wounds reopen, resulting in an explosion of food, comedy, drama, and belated forgiveness. Winner of 10 2023 Israeli Academy Ophir Awards including: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
HOME, directed by Benny Fredman. A young and recently married Orthodox man’s dream to open a computer store in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem turns into a violent nightmare when the entire neighborhood sees him as an existential threat. Turning his whole world upside down, the threat enters his home, and puts his marriage to the test, as he faces the reality of his own free will within a predetermined world. The film won the 2023 Israeli Academy Ophir Award for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.
HAGSHASH HAHIVER, directed by Eliav Lilti. Were the “HAGASHASH HAHIVER” comedy trio the essence of Israeli-ness, or did they provide a convenient representation that everyone wanted to believe in? What does this so-called refined essence teach us about Israelis, and how does it stand the test of time? To thoroughly examine this complex issue, this documentary blends deep insights with humor, infused with anecdotes and archival footage.
THE MONKEY HOUSE, directed by Avi Nesher. A once successful novelist tries to revive his fading career by launching a highly inventive scam. He recruits a reckless actress and trains her to assume the somber identity of a lit master’s student. Their lives will alter forever. The film received 11 2023 Israeli Academy Ophir Award Nominations.
RUNNING ON SAND, directed by Adar Shafran. When a young Eritrean refugee deported from Israel is mistaken for the new foreign player of a struggling soccer team, his survival depends on the team’s success. The film received four 2023 Israeli Academy Ophir Award Nominations.
KARAOKE, directed by Moshe Rosenthal. A bittersweet comedy about a middle-class suburban couple in their 60s who are drawn to their new neighbor, a charismatic bachelor who has karaoke evenings at his apartment. The film won the 2022 Israeli Academy Ophir Award for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Score and Best Music.
THE CITY, directed by Amit Ulman. In a dark city, in a fictional world, detective Joe is called upon by Sarah Bennett to help investigate the murder of her sister. Quickly, the plot thickens, and Joe finds himself facing the most notorious criminal mastermind. The first ever Hebrew rap opera. The film won the 2024 Israeli Academy Ophir Award for Best Music.
Select screenings will include exclusive post screening interview Q&As with Israel’s most influential filmmakers and talent, each moderated by distinguished Israeli and American journalists. Among the filmmakers and talent scheduled to attend are:
Sophie Artus, Director, Halisa
Lior Chefetz, Director, The Strong Hold
Benny Fredman, Director, Home
Maya Kenig, Director, The Milky Way
Shaike Levi, Actor, Hagshash Hahiver
Anat Maltz, Director, Real Estate – A Love Story
Ofer Naim, Producer, Mid Life
Tom Nesher, Director, Come Closer
Moshe Rosenthal, Director, Karaoke
Adar Shafran, Director, Running on Sand
Shemi Shoenfeld, Producer, Matchmaking 2 and Soda
Erez Tadmor, Director, Matchmaking 2 and Soda
Amit Ulman, Director and Actor, The City
Estee Yacov-Mecklberg, Producer, Come Closer and Highway 65
