Kuya Noy, documentary on ASIN founder opens the 16th Israeli Film Festival

An exclusive online screening of Kuya Noy by Daniel Binsted kicked off the 16th Israeli Film Festival, presented by the Embassy of Israel in Manila in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

The documentary centers on Mike "Kuya Noy" Pillora Jr., one of the founders of the legendary folk band ASIN, who has since migrated to Israel around 15 years ago.

Mike "Kuya Noy" Pillora

The years Noy has had living in Israel have not been easy for him. The toll the move had on him caused the break up of his family and he ends up living in the slums of Tel-Aviv giving massages in order to get by. But things begin to turn around for Noy when he embarks on a music comeback trail in Israel and then sets out for a bigger mission, to go back to the Philippines and reunite ASIN back on stage.

The documentary sees a more mellow, vulnerable, and sometimes defeated, older Noy which is a great contrast to the confident, defiant, and stubborn youth during ASIN's heyday as shown through archived footage and photographs. It also strived to give some answers to the lingering questions about ASIN's break up with Pendong Aban providing his version on Noy's expulsion from the group.

Aside from his musical endeavors, the documentary also sheds light on Noy trying to forge a stronger bond with his daughter who is also at a crossroads on whether to enlist in the military or to delay it to pursue dance. Noy candidly admits that he is a flop as a father which is just one of the frank admissions he has in the documentary.

He also confesses that he has never considered Israel as his home and that he has been through a rough patch since moving to Israel. This resonated with filmmaker Daniel Binsted who mentioned during an online conference that this mirrored the experience of his father who also migrated to Israel and yet didn't fully assimilated to the society.

Director Daniel Binsted

Binsted also recalled that he came to know about Noy through the grapevine, when a friend of a friend told him about this mysterious foreigner in his class. Curiosity beckoned and Noy became a subject of their inquiries. This eventually led Binsted to discover Noy's remarkable musical past. To give a glimpse of the Filipino community in Israel through the story of Noy is what compelled Binsted to make the documentary.

The online conference also gave Noy the opportunity to voice his views regarding the upcoming 2022 elections. He mentions the needs to strengthen education and if having certain guidelines in choosing leaders. He further stressed that it is leaders that the country needs and not rulers which was applicable only during medieval times. He also reiterated that a leader should be a moral person, echoing his views that Asin was a moral group rather than a radical one that most people perceived the group to be. Noy was blunt in saying that nothing has changed, everything is still the same which is why Asin songs are still relevant.

Israel Embassy's MASHAV Officer Gladys Baniqued, Daniel Binsted and Noy Pillora

Here are the films of the 16th Israeli Film Festival happening this November 2021. Check out the social media pages of the Embassy of Israel in Manila for instructions on how to view these films.

Kuya Noy (2019)

Director: Daniel Binsted

Kuya Noy is the story of Noy, a Filipino rock legend who found himself living in the slums of Tel-Aviv, barely scraping by, father to an Israeli daughter who is about to begin her military service. During the late 70's, under martial law, Noy founded ASIN, a music band that symbolized liberalism. Now, at the age of 61 and for the first time in many years, he will pick up his old guitar and dare to dream of a new future.

And Then She Arrived (2017)

Director: Roee Florentin

Cast: Michael Aloni, Chen Amsalem, Shmulik Vilogni, Miki Kam, Gidi Gov, Orna Banai

Dan Freilich (age 30), is a handsome but very easy-going nerd who is quite sure his future is organized for the next 50 years. The plan is that soon he will marry Tamar, his high school sweetheart. That’s all you need, isn’t it? Apparently not.

Dan meets Meirav Levi (age 27), a waitress from Jerusalem, and discovers that feeling of butterflies fluttering in your stomach. From here on in, the plot thickens. Dan and Tamar break up but not everything goes smoothly with Meirav. Then Dan decides not to give up and fights to win Meirav’s love.

Ben-Gurion, Epilogue (2016)

Director: Yariv Mozer

Based on a rare interview with David Ben-Gurion in 1968, this fascinating documentary offers a glimpse into the private life of one of the most important statesmen of the 20th century. Conducted five years after he resigned from public life, Ben-Gurion looks back at his youth and time in office, contemplates the future of Israel following the 1967 War and explains why he believes peace is more important than land. Ben-Gurion, Epilogue looks beyond the iconic tufts of hair to reveal a thoughtful, modest and loving man.

The Unorthodox (2018)

Director: Eliran Malka

Cast: Shuli Rand, Yakov Cohen, Yoav Levi, Tzachi Grad, Yigal Naor

When Yakov Cohen’s daughter is expelled from school because of her ethnicity, the widowed father decides to fight back. Despite having no political experience, he forms Shas, a new party whose aim is to cater for the needs of the disenfranchised Sephardi ultra-Orthodox community in Israel. It’s 1983, the Ashkenazi establishment rules everything and Cohen’s efforts seem quixotic. But he perseveres, and by doing so, changes the political landscape in Israel forever. Inspired by real events, The Unorthodox is a highly entertaining – and enlightening – tale about the beginnings of a political revolution.

The 16th Israeli Film Festival is presented by the Embassy of Israel in Manila in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

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.

Comedy films to bring out the laughs at the 13th Israeli Film Festival

November 5-6, 2014

Greenbelt 3

Ayala Center, Makati

For two days, the Embassy of Israel will serve Laughter from the Holy Land as they present the 13^th Israeli Film Festival happening this November 5 & 6, 2014 at the Greenbelt 3. A total of eight comedy films, both classic and contemporary, will be screened for free over the course of two days.

To be screened at the festival are a couple of films by director Gur Bentwich namely Up the Wrong Tree (2013) which is about a restless bum and cynic who finds solace up a tree after he gets thrown off by his girlfriend and Total Love (2000) which is about a girl’s dilemma on who among her three former lovers to choose when they attempt to rescue her after she gets arrested in India. Another contemporary film in the lineup is Hunting Elephants (2013) by Reshi Lefe which tells the story of Jonathan who thinks that robbing a bank is his only recourse when he goes down in his luck with his finances.

Films from the past decades in the festival include Alex is Lovesick (1986) directed by Boaz Davidson where12 year old Polish-Jewish Alex falls in love with his classmate and also with his aunt who came from Israel, Pick a Card (1997) by Julie Shles which is about little people trying to fulfill big dreams in a big city, and The Matchmaker (2010) by Avi Nesher, a story of a teenage boy, a matchmaker working near a theater showing only love stories, who ends up falling in love with a woman who is all about women’s rights, free love and rock and roll. The oldest film in the festival, Big Dig (1969) by Ephraim Kishon is about a lunatic who digs a canal out of compulsion. And in a crazy twist, the only one who points out the lunacy of this project gets tagged as the lunatic.

Lastly, A Matter of Size (2009) returns and caps the 13^th Israeli Film Festival. This movie, directed by Sharon Maymon and Erez Tadmor tells the story of a group of overweight men who form a sumo wrestling club in order to deal with their personal issues. This film was also part of the 11^th Israeli Film Festival back in 2011. All films are in Hebrew with English subtitles.

Here is the 13^th Israeli Film Festival screening schedule:

November 5, 2014

1:00 PM Alex is Lovesick

3:00 PM Total Love

5:00 PM Up the Wrong Tree

7:30 PM Hunting Elephants

November 6, 2014

1:00 PM Big Dig

3:00 PM Pick a Card

5:00 PM The Matchmaker

7:30 PM A Matter of Size (Special Screening)

12th Israel Film Festival

For the second time, I was able to attend the opening night of the Israeli Film Festival at the Greenbelt 3 Cinemas. The Embassy of Israel in partnership with the Ayala Cinemas presented this festival that showcased various aspects of Israeli life. The film that was shown during the opening night was the comedy Footnote.

Hannah Espia, Ambassador Menashe Bar-On and Madame Eti Bar-On

The gracious hosts during the opening night were Ambassador Menashe Bar-On and his spouse Madame Eti. Among the guests were producer Paul Soriano and director Hannah Espia whose movie Transit, was among the films screened for this festival.

Paul Soriano and Hanna Espia

Transit garnered most of the awards during the 2013 edition of Cinemalaya and was chosen as the Philippines’ entry to the foreign language film category in this year’s Academy Awards.

Footnote

Directed by Joseph Cedar, Footnote is a comedy that introduced me to the world of Talmudic studies. In the film, the rivalry between a father, Eliezer Shkolnik (Shlomo Bar Aba) and his son, Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi), both professors of the Talmudic studies, gets fiercer when the father was announced to be the recipient of the very prestigious Israel Prize. The father’s recognition seems like a mistake since he is regarded as a stubborn purist, not well liked by his peers, and whose only noteworthy achievement was a footnote mention, while his son is not only popular and charismatic, but is also an up-and-coming personality in his field making him a shoo-in for the award.

Towards the end of the film, there was a very clever way of showing especially to those unfamiliar with it, what a scholar in Talmudic studies actually does through a nicely, choreographed sequence showing these professors in action. The film had an open ending which not only left Eliezer, but also the viewer, guessing. It was indeed an enjoyable film to watch since I never thought that the world of the academe deciphering ancient texts could be that exciting.

11th Israel Film Festival

The Embassy of Israel held a special screening of the film A Matter of Size a few weeks ago hosted by Ambassador Menashe Bar-On and his wife, Madame Esther Bar-On. The Embassy has been very nice to me ever since I assisted a couple of musicians that they’ve brought here some time back. And I’m very grateful to be invited once again and this event was my first experience under the new Ambassador. This film screening is in line with the 11^th Israel Film Festival happening on November 14 & 15, at the Greenbelt Cinema.

RAd with Yaniv Revach, Deputy Chief of Mission 
and Neelesh from the Embassy of Israel

Looking back, I couldn’t remember if I’ve ever seen an Israeli film in my entire life so I am glad to have had the opportunity to see one at last. Watching the film made me realize about a lot of things about Israel  that I’ve never thought of before like the Israelis having a sense of humor since this film is a comedy, that they also have people struggling with their weight and that sushi bars exist there as well. Silly as it may seem but these never crossed my mind until I’ve seen the film. The film, directed by Sharon Maymon and Erez Tadmor, despite having literally heavy characters, is actually a light one. I was feeling a bit under the weather when I attended this screening and I was pleased that it didn’t require me to dig deep in order to appreciate the film.

A Matter of Size

The film told about the story of Herzl (Itzik Cohen) who is struggling with his weight. He then discovers a Sumo wrestling match and decided to totally forget about losing weight and just form a Sumo group with his fellow overweight friends. And it was through this endeavor that they’ve come to accept not just their weight but also some underlying issues within as well. The film may not be an epic but it was a satisfying introduction of Israeli cinema for someone who is not familiar with their film industry like me.

Cinema 5 Greenbelt 3

November 14-15, 2011

Screening times:
1:25 PM

3:45 PM

6:05 PM

8:25 PM

10:45 PM

Ticket price:

P65