Here is a calendar of upcoming events, up and down the country. Some are organized by us, others by like-minded organizations and groups.
JIFF is the home of the most comprehensive range of Israeli and Jewish-themed films in Australia and New Zealand. The films premiere in our annual three-week film festival in November or our newly established Holocaust Film Series in March. JIFF is building on the long and proud 24-year history of Jewish film festivals in Australia.
Censored Voices (2015)
The 1967 ‘Six-Day’ war ended with Israel’s decisive victory; conquering Jerusalem, Gaza, Sinai and the West Bank. It is a war portrayed, to this day, as a righteous undertaking – a radiant emblem of Jewish pride. One week after the war, a group of young kibbutzniks, led by renowned author Amos Oz, recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The recording revealed an honest look at the moment Israel turned from David to Goliath. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing the kibbutzniks to publish only a fragment of the conversations. ‘Censored Voices’ reveals the original recordings for the first time.
84 minutes.
Awards of the Israeli Film Academy 2015
| Won Award of the Israeli Film Academy |
Best Documentary |
DocAviv Film Festival 2015
| Won Israeli Competition |
Yafo Award for Best Debut Film Mor Loushy “It’s rare to see a film from a young filmmaker that treats a complex subject with such depth, … More |
| Research Award Mor Loushy “Bringing together a wealth of previously unseen and unheard archive materials and combining them … More |
|
| Nominated Israeli Competition |
Best Israeli Film Mor Loushy |
London Film Festival 2015
| Nominated Grierson Award |
Documentary Film Mor Loushy |
Sundance Film Festival 2015
| Nominated Grand Jury Prize |
World Cinema – Documentary Mor Loushy |
JIFF is the home of the most comprehensive range of Israeli and Jewish-themed films in Australia and New Zealand. The films premiere in our annual three-week film festival in November or our newly established Holocaust Film Series in March. JIFF is building on the long and proud 24-year history of Jewish film festivals in Australia.
Felix and Meira (2015)
Making the most of the family home while her parents are away, Nicole, 22 years old, is enjoying a peaceful summer with her best friend Véronique. When Nicole’s older brother shows up with his band to record an album, the girls’ friendship is put to the test. Their vacation takes an unexpected turn, punctuated by a heatwave, Nicole’s growing insomnia and the persistent courtship of a 10-year-old boy.
105 minutes.
Chicago International Film Festival 2014
| Nominated Audience Choice Award |
Audience Choice Award Maxime Giroux |
Haifa International Film Festival 2014
| Won Tobias Spencer Award |
Maxime Giroux |
RiverRun International Film Festival 2015
| Won Honorable Mention |
Best Cinematography Sara Mishara |
| Best Actress Hadas Yaron |
San Sebastián International Film Festival 2014
| Nominated Golden Seashell |
Best Film Maxime Giroux |
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2014
| Nominated Best North American Independent Film |
Maxime Giroux |
Toronto International Film Festival 2014
| Won Best Canadian Feature Film |
Maxime Giroux |
Warsaw International Film Festival 2014
| Nominated Grand Prix |
Maxime Giroux |
Whistler Film Festival 2014
| Won Best Actor in Borsos Film |
Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature Hadas Yaron |
| Won Best Director of a Borsos Film |
Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature Maxime Giroux (Director) |
| Won Best Screenplay for a Borsos Film |
Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature Maxime Giroux Alexandre Laferrière |
| Won Borsos Award of Best Canadian Feature |
Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature Maxime Giroux |
JIFF is the home of the most comprehensive range of Israeli and Jewish-themed films in Australia and New Zealand. The films premiere in our annual three-week film festival in November or our newly established Holocaust Film Series in March. JIFF is building on the long and proud 24-year history of Jewish film festivals in Australia.
To Life! (2015)
Fate has taken its toll on the aging cabaret singer Ruth and the young but terminally ill Jonas. Yet despite their great age difference and their entirely opposite experiences in life, they form an intense bond and give each other a reason and purpose to live.
90 minutes.
JIFF is the home of the most comprehensive range of Israeli and Jewish-themed films in Australia and New Zealand. The films premiere in our annual three-week film festival in November or our newly established Holocaust Film Series in March. JIFF is building on the long and proud 24-year history of Jewish film festivals in Australia.
Sabena Hijacking (2015)
Sabena Hijacking My Version is a powerful, suspenseful docu-drama based on previously undiscovered audio recordings of the former pilot, Captain Reginald Levy. Captain Levy (now deceased) was in command of the Sabena Flight 571 from Brussels, Belgium to Tel Aviv, Israel on 8 May 1972, when it was hijacked by four members from the “Black September”, the armed wing of Fatah or Palestine Liberalization Organisation.
The film finally shares the untold story of what exactly took place on the flight throughout 30 hours of nerve-wrecking captivity. It channels the English pilots impartial view of the events and elaborates on them with exclusive access to three revered Israeli political leaders who were in charge of the rescue effort, as well as the only surviving hijacker, who tell their own story.
Current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu featured, alongside the other key political decision makers at the time, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and former Prime Minister, President and Nobel Prize winner Shimon Peres.
Therese Halsa, one of the four hijackers who was a girl of just 18 at the time, gives her version of events, following release from a 220 year prison sentence of which she served 13 years. Sabena Hijacking My Version fuses candid interviews with archive material and dramatic reenactments of the tense scenes inside the aircraft and the control tower as Captain Levy was held at gunpoint.
It takes viewers into the aircraft to witness the events first-hand as the hijackers threatened to explode hand grenades unless 300 prisoners were released. It also gives insight to the tense negotiations which eventually led to a heroic rescue operation during which a special unit of soldiers (disguised as technicians) stormed the plane.
The result is a captivating, fast-paced film full of suspense, which poses significant political and historical questions that are not only still important, but have shaped the Israel of today.
104 minutes.
CANTERBURY UNIVERSITY: RAPHAEL WEIN AND NAFTALI GROSS
Tuesday October 25, 12 noon
THE NZ INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS INVITES YOU TO WHAT PROMISES TO BE AN ENGAGING AND FASCINATING ADDRESS
Ethical Dilemmas of Serving in the Israeli Defense Forces: Israel’s war against terrorism.
About the Speakers:
Raphael is a Business Administration and Political Science Student at Ariel University and is a reservist in the IDF. Naftali is a medical student at the Hebrew University and a volunteer paramedic for Magen David (the equivalent of St John’s Ambulance Service in NZ) and is also a reservist in the IDF. Both were combatants in the 2014 Gaza War.
Venue: Logie 104, University of Canterbury, Ilam, Christchurch.
A map showing the location of the venue may be obtained by clicking this link.
Admission is free
Feel free to pass this notice on to anyone else you feel may be interested.
How I survived the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia
Please note that the venue has been changed from Room 201 to Room 203 in the same building.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Peter Gaspar is a Holocaust survivor and educator, who uses his experiences to help inform young people about the dangers of prejudice and discrimination. Peter was born in Bratislava in Czechoslovakia and survived the war by going into hiding. Along with his parents, Peter was hidden for three years and then during the last six months, Peter and his mother were interned in the Terezin Concentration Camp. Peter currently volunteers with the Courage to Care program in Melbourne inspiring young people to be more accepting and tolerant. This year he will also be travelling to schools throughout New Zealand, through the HOPE Project.
How I survived the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Peter Gaspar is a Holocaust survivor and educator, who uses his experiences to help inform young people about the dangers of prejudice and discrimination. Peter was born in Bratislava in Czechoslovakia and survived the war by going into hiding. Along with his parents, Peter was hidden for three years and then during the last six months, Peter and his mother were interned in the Terezin Concentration Camp. Peter currently volunteers with the Courage to Care program in Melbourne inspiring young people to be more accepting and tolerant. This year he will also be travelling to schools throughout New Zealand, through the HOPE Project.
How I survived the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia
There will be public meetings also in Wellington and Auckland; keep an eye out on our website for notices of these events once the times and dates have been confirmed.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Peter Gaspar is a Holocaust survivor and educator, who uses his experiences to help inform young people about the dangers of prejudice and discrimination. Peter was born in Bratislava in Czechoslovakia and survived the war by going into hiding. Along with his parents, Peter was hidden for three years and then during the last six months, Peter and his mother were interned in the Terezin Concentration Camp. Peter currently volunteers with the Courage to Care program in Melbourne inspiring young people to be more accepting and tolerant. This year he will also be travelling to schools throughout New Zealand, through the HOPE Project.
How I survived the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Peter Gaspar is a Holocaust survivor and educator, who uses his experiences to help inform young people about the dangers of prejudice and discrimination. Peter was born in Bratislava in Czechoslovakia and survived the war by going into hiding. Along with his parents, Peter was hidden for three years and then during the last six months, Peter and his mother were interned in the Terezin Concentration Camp. Peter currently volunteers with the Courage to Care program in Melbourne inspiring young people to be more accepting and tolerant. This year he will also be travelling to schools throughout New Zealand, through the HOPE Project.
We are forming a group to go view this documentary on Sunday June 16. If you’d like to join up, call our Wellington Regional Coordinator, Joanna Moss on (022) 154 7865.
“…by the end, Keane and McConnell are tugging so hard at heartstrings that most viewers will be unable to resist, even the ones who can see the puppeteers in constant motion.” – Hollywood Reporter
It’s hard to imagine anybody living a normal life in the Gaza Strip. Frequently labelled as the world’s largest open-air prison, it makes an appearance on news reports every time a confrontation erupts between Israel and Hamas. On TV sets thousands of miles away, this tiny piece of land has been reduced to an image of violence, chaos and destruction.
The Gaza which is seldom seen is ordinary, everyday Gaza, a coastal strip smaller than Lake Taupō and home to an eclectic mix of almost two million.
So what do the people who live there do when they’re not under siege?
Gary Keane and Andrew McConnell’s atypical approach to their subject matter yields unexpected, unfamiliar stories of people plagued by conflict but not defined by it.
“We don’t wanna be killed or injured. We simply want to live.”
– Paramedic in Gaza
Gaza cannot be understood in a purely political context or by analysing tragic sound bites during conflict. It can only be understood by immersion, by living amongst its people and by recognizing and exploring its rich social diversity and cultural subtleties.
As the filmmakers travel through the physically broken and battered landscape, they allow their subjects to speak for themselves.
Through them, we gain a nuanced understanding of what life is really like for Gaza’s citizens. In Keane and McConnell’s tender portrait of beleaguered humanity, we experience familiarity and affinity with this unique community.
100% on Rotten Tomatoes