Organizing a special retrospective, the 9^th Odesa International Film Festival will honour the 70^th anniversary of Israeli cinema.

The 9^th Odesa International Film Festival will bring an insight into the cultural diversity of the Israeli society as seen through its cinema. The Israeli cinema that in 2018 is celebrating its 70^th anniversary and will be presented through a special retrospective. The elements that form today’s society, from the Ultra-orthodox community to the Arabic presence and from the Falasha minority to the Sefarad and the Jewish community, originally coming from the former Soviet Union - all of them will be presented on the big screen.

In details the films that will be screened at the retrospective of Israeli Cinema are:

Tikkun (2015) by Avishai Sivan. Haim-Aaron is a bright, Ultra-Orthodox religious scholar living in Jerusalem. One evening, following a self-imposed fast, Haim-Aaron collapses and loses consciousness. The paramedics announce his death, but his father takes over resuscitation efforts and, beyond all expectations, Haim-Aaron comes back to life. After the accident, he remains apathetic to his studies. The father is tormented by the fear of having crossed God’s will the night he resuscitated his son. Silver Leopard – Special Jury Prize at the 2015 Locarno Film Festival.

Live and Become (2005) by Radu Mihăileanu. Schlomo, an Ethiopian boy, is placed by his Christian mother with an Ethiopian Jewish woman whose child has died. This woman, who will become his adoptive mother, is about to be airlifted from a Sudanese refugee camp to Israel during Operation Moses in 1984. His birth mother, who hopes for a better life for him, tells him, “Live and become,” as he leaves her to get on the bus. The film narrates Schlomo’s growing up in Israel and how he deals with the secrets he carries: not being Jewish and having left his birth mother. Panorama Audience Award at the 2005 Berlinale.

To Take a Wife (2004) by Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz. The story takes place in Haifa in 1979, during three days before the Shabbat. A hairdresser Viviane struggles to maintain her individuality in a household with an oppressive, conservative husband and his live-in mother. When Viviane’s old lover reappears, an already untenable situation grows more complicated. Critics’ Week Audience Award at the 2004 Venice Film Festival.

Five Hours from Paris (2009) by Leonid Prudovsky. In a working-class suburb of Tel Aviv, two people meet. He is a native Israeli. She is a Russian immigrant. He is a taxi driver. She is a music teacher. He has no aspirations. She gave up hers long ago. He is afraid of flying and she is about to fly away. What are the odds of them ending up together? Official Selection at the 2009 Toronto IFF.

Ajami (2009) by Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti. Jaffa’s Ajami neighbourhood is a melting pot of cultures and conflicting views among Jews, Muslims and Christians. The tragic fragility of human existence is experienced in the enclosed community of Ajami, where enemies must live as neighbours. No location better expresses the dramatic collision of different worlds. Back and forth in time, and through the eyes of various characters, we witness how impossible the situation actually is. Caméra d’Or – Special Mention at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.