Festival offers up some of
the best in Israeli cinema
15th Israeli Film Festival streams 20 unique films during these stay at home days
By Byron Toben
Homebound film lovers will love this opportunity.
For the 15th annual edition of the Israeli Film Festival, the selection features 20 films for a “passport” fee of $20, which allows viewing at almost any time during the 10 days of the event, which are June 10 to 21.
At what amounts to $1 per film, it is hard to go wrong. In addition, the Israeli film industry has been slowly gaining an appreciation among film addicts.
Sponsored by the Montreal Sephardic Community, The Federation CJA and largely underwritten by the Banque Nationale, individual institutions have also backed one or more individual entries. The Cummings Centre, for example, recommends Love in Suspenders and Ms. G.
At what amounts to $1 per film, it is hard to go wrong. In addition, the Israeli film industry has been slowly gaining an appreciation among film addicts.
Full descriptions can be found on the festival website fcim.ca/en but below is my overall summary. NOTE: This festival is “geolocated” to Quebec viewers.
There are six feature films and six documentary films in competition. There are also two docs not in competition. Also, not in competition are four “classics” of the past and four episodes of a TV series. All but one are in Hebrew with English subtitles. The one not in Hebrew (The End of Love) is in French with English subtitles.

Promotion material for Ms. G documentary
By title and length, here is the summary:
FEATURE FILMS
Chained – Drama (112 minutes)
Love in Suspenders – Comedy (102 minutes)
Mossad – Comedy/Action (95 minutes)
The Art of Waiting – Drama (90 minutes)
The Day After I’m Gone – Drama (97minutes)
The End of Love – Drama-Romance (90 minutes)
DOCUMENTARIES
Dan Menkin (75 minutes)
Ma’aborot (84 minutes)
Ms. G (57 minutes)
The Forgotten Ones (75 minutes)
The Prophet (68 minutes)
Transkids (103 minutes)
Begin: Peace and War (85 minutes) – NOT IN COMPETITION
Golda (88 minutes) – NOT IN COMPETITION

Frame from An Israeli Love Story
CLASSICS
An Israeli Love Story – Drama/History (93 minutes)
Apples From the Desert – Drama/Romance (96 minutes)
Five Hours From Paris – Drama (88 minutes)
Magic Men – Drama (88 minutes)
SERIES
Dayan: The First Family Episodes 1 and 2 (90 Minutes)
Dayan: The First Family Episodes 3 and 4 (126 minutes)
The seven judges of the completive films are headed by Michael Prupas, head of Muse films and include NFB vet Beverly Shaffer and Yid Life Crisis co-creator Jaime Elman as well as Gerald Wexler, Claude Fournier, Lorne Price and Elie Castiel.
15th annual edition of the Israeli Film Festival
June 10 to 21
Visit the festival website fcim.ca/en to purchase a passport to see the films.
Feature image: Mossad! promotion material
Read more articles from Byron Toben
Byron Toben, a past president of The Montreal Press Club, has been WestmountMag.ca’s theatre reviewer since July 2015. Previously, he wrote for since terminated web sites Rover Arts and Charlebois Post, print weekly The Downtowner and print monthly The Senior Times. He also is an expert consultant on U.S. work permits for Canadians.
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