There is still time to see some of the films from the Utah festival at Sundance at BAM hosted by the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The screenings end June 8th.
Israeli movies are becoming more and more popular in the United States, particularly in the tri-state area. There is just one day left for the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Israel@60 series. However, we have a wide selection of Hebrew films including several shown at the festival. Ushpizin is the story of Moshe and Malli (played by the real-life couple Shuli and Michal Bat-Sheva Rand), new adherents to religious orthodoxy. The couple spends the Sukkot holiday praying for a child as well as for guests to come and share their temporary abode. They get a little more than prayed for when 2 fugitive criminals invade their space, one of whom happens to be Moshe’s old friend from his pre-religious days. Campfire (Medurat Hashevet) focuses on a 42 year-old widowed mother of 2 teenaged daughters with their own rebellions who wants to join a founding group of a new settlement in the West Bank. Or, the title character in this film, has a full time job in a restaurant but a part-time job taking care of her ailing Mother. The movie is of a mature nature. Close to Home (Karov la Bayit) explores the friendship between two very different female soldiers assigned to Magaz, the Israeli Border Patrol and explores the experience of women in the Israeli army.