13th Israeli Film Festival

The 13^th Israeli Film Festival turned out to be the first ever event by Embassy of Israel under its new Ambassador Ephraim Ben Matityau. It was my first time to see and meet him as well. And right from the onset, he along with Deputy Chief of Mission Adam Michael Levene gave the guests at Greenbelt 3 Cinema 5 a taste on how the film festival will be: with a lot of laughter. As Ambassador Matityau informed the audience in his opening speech that the opening film, Hunting Elephants, stars Hollywood actor Patrick Stewart (known to many a either Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation or Professor Charles Xavier from the X-Men film franchise), he then jokingly blamed Adam Levene for failing to bring the actor to the festival. Adam quickly quipped that he would be beamed up, a clear reference to Star Trek although I am not sure if many among the audience were able to pick that up.

RAd and Israeli Ambassador Ephraim Ben Matityau

A significant development in this year’s film festival is its partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines. This means that after the Greenbelt run, the films will tour in Baguio, Davao, Zamboanga, and Iloilo Cinematheques as announced by FDCP Chairman Briccio Santos. I am not sure if all eight films to be screened in Greenbelt will be brought on tour though. As of now, no screening schedule has been released yet.

RAd and Adam Michael Levene

I was able to ask Adam Levene, in line with Patrick Stewart being part of Hunting Elephants, if it is usual for Israeli films to have Hollywood actors in it. He said that it is only in recent years when there has been a noticeable crossover between Israeli and actors from other countries. And more noteworthy for him is the presence of more Israeli actors in Hollywood like Natalie Portman (who holds both American and Israeli citizenship) and Gal Gadot who was recently announced as portraying Wonder Woman in the super heroine’s upcoming feature film. He also proudly mentioned that in recent years, Israeli films had been nominated for the Academy Awards’ Best Foreign Language Film category. One such film is Footnote from 2011 which was included in last year’s 12^th Israeli Film Festival. Other films that were nominated are Ajami in 2009, Waltz with Bashir in 2008, and Beaufort in 2007. But he noted that no Israeli film has ever won the Oscar though.

Ambassador Matityau and FDCP Chairman Briccio Santos cut the ribbon

Hunting Elephants

The film that opened the 13^th Israeli Film Festival was Hunting Elephants by director Reshef Levi. The film is a comedy about a very smart and often bullied young boy Jonathan (Gil Blank) who witnesses the death of his father, finds out that his mother is having an affair with his father’s former boss, and realizes that their down on their luck with finances. And not just that, he has to spend most of his afternoons at a nursing home with his grandfather Eliyahu (Sasson Gabai), a stern and bitter old man whom he has never met before, and his grandfather’s best friend and former partner in crime Nick (Moni Moshonov). Jonathan’s mother’s desperate attempt to get a loan led to the arrival of his grandmother’s brother Michael, sorry, Lord Michael Simpson (Patrick Stewart), a disillusioned and struggling actor still holding on to his non-existent nobility and fortune.

When things don’t get any better for any of them, Jonathan, Eliyahu, Nick and Michael plot to rob a bank where the boy’s father used to work. The boy’s smartness and knowledge of the bank’s security system, Eliyahu and Nick’s militant past (they’ve robbed banks before) seem to work for their advantage. But Michael, who treats this stick up as yet one of his roles on stage casts major doubts if the group will able to pull this heist off. As to the outcome of the film, if this unusual crew was indeed able to rob a bank successfully and get away with it, I wouldn’t say since one has to watch the film to find out for himself.

It’s safe to say though that Patrick Stewart stole most of the film. Since he has cemented himself in the annals of pop culture with his career defining roles in the Star Trek and X-Men movie franchises, it was very amusing to see him in a role that had him cast in a self depreciating light. The Hamlet scene with Stewart could possibly be the most memorable and jaw dropping scene for all the Trekkies out there. They probably never imagined that they’d be seeing the actor who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard dressed up like that.

As for me, I felt that the characters’ quirks and oddities were stretched to the max. I had the impression that the nursing home was a place for old men and women whose libido remained unabated. This prevalence of sexual vulgarity in the film didn’t spare Jonathan’s mother, the bank manager and also one of the caretakers in the nursing home. Even though the film is fictional, I did worry about Jonathan’s well being since he spent most of his time with these people who aren’t exactly the best role models out there. I somewhat hoped that Jonathan will turn out well after the film since he has been through a lot and that it will be a shame if a smart kid like him goes down the drain later in life.

Other films to be screened in the 13^th Israeli Film Festival are Alex is Lovesick, Total Love, Up the Wrong Tree, Big Dig, Pick a Card, The Matchmaker, and a re-screening of A Matter of Size at Greenbelt 3 Cinema 5. Admission is free.