Israel Opens Its 12th Year Film Festival

The Embassy of Israel in partnership with the Ayala Cinemas will hold its 12th year Israeli Film Festival, tomorrow until Saturday at big theaters in Metro Manila.

Rachelle Nessia of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Cebu yesterday told that showcasing the Israel’s wide diversity, award-winning and acclaimed Israeli films were brought in for the delight of the Filipino people and local Jewish community to showcase the many facets of Israeli culture and society.

Nessia added that the festival’s opening day will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony to be led by Ambassador Menashe Bar On, his spouse, Eti Bar On and the guests of honor, the cast and crew of Filipino Indie film “Transit” directed by Hannah Espinaa and produced by Paul Soriano.

She added that the recently-named Philippine Oscar submission features teenage actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith as Yael, an Israeli-born Filipina struggling with her cultural identity.

Nessia also told that Transit, which dominated this year’s Cinemalaya awards in the New Breed category, will be capping the 12th Israeli Film Festival, in cooperation with the Israeli Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines.

The film has already generated favorable reviews and a cult following in Israel, she added. According to Nessia that aside from the strong bonds of friendship between Israel and the Philippines, the Film Festival will touch upon the lives of different cultures and lifestyles in Israel: modern and traditional; Arabs and Jews; religious and secular, among others.

Opening this year’s festival will be a former Oscar submission on its own – “Footnote”. The award-winning film explores the troubled relationship between a father and son who teach at the Talmud department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.