In its inaugural event, the IFF – not the Jewish film festival! – gathers 40 films over four days for a new look at indie Israeli cinema. The programme highlights the rich counterculture of contemporary Israeli society with a subversive nod towards sexuality, politics and ‘real’ army life, at times poignant, at others farcical.
English-subbed highlights range from the brutal doco War Matador, Avner Faingulernt and Macabit Abramson’s meditation on the bombed Gaza border in 2009 (Oct 20, 16:15), to David Lubetzky’s Poisoned, where antihero Danny must fight to survive – and woo the girl – after his fellow IDF soldiers turn into flesh-eating zombies (Oct 21, 22:15).
Alongside panel discussions, the festival will host a retrospective on queer director Amos Guttman (Amazing Grace, Oct 19, 22:00; Drifting, Oct 21, 22:15), and showcase documentarian Anat Even (Closure, Oct 21, 20:15; Detained, Oct 20, 19:45) and writer/ director Dan Wolman (Tied hands, Oct 19, 16:30; Ben’s Biography, Oct 20, 14:00; Spoken With Love, Oct 21, 16:30).
Israeli Film Festival, Oct 18-21 | All films in English or in OV with English subtitles. Israel Film Festival Berlin | Moviemento, Kottbusser Damm 22, U-Bhf Schönleinstr., Kreuzberg. www.iffberlin.com
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