Opening Night Feature Film

Summary:

In 1964, Rachel Brenner is one of three Mossad agents whose mission is to capture the 'Surgeon of Birkenau', a monstrous Nazi war criminal. He is working under a false identity, as a gynecologist in a small clinic in the centre of Berlin. As part of the operation, Rachel becomes one of his patients, building a trust between the two and enabling the agents to discretely kidnap the doctor and move him to the Mossad's safe house in the suburbs. As the three agents wait for their return to Israel in order to deliver the war criminal for public trial, a psychological duel commences between the Nazi doctor and the young agents.

A huge box-office hit in Israel, nominated for four Israeli film awards, The Debt is a unique psychological cat-and-mouse espionage thriller which was filmed on location in the Ukraine and Israel and features an international cast.

Director: Assaf Bernstein
Producer: Eitan Evan
Writer: Assaf Bernstein, Ido Rosenblum
Starring: Gila Almagor, Neta Garti, Yehezkel Lazarov

Languages: Hebrew, German and Russian with English subtitles
Run Time: 93 minutes
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Warning: Violence

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Screening

Tampa Theatre
Thursday, March 4
8 p.m.

Summary:

Tarek, a Palestinian forced on a suicide mission in Tel Aviv to redeem his father's honor, is given a second chance when the fuse on his explosive vest fails to detonate. Forced to spend the weekend in Tel Aviv awaiting its repair, Tarek must live amongst the people he was planning to kill. To his surprise he connects with several Israelis on the outskirts of society, including the beautiful Keren, who has cut off contact with her Orthodox family and upbringing. With nothing to lose, Tarek and Keren open up to one another, and an unlikely love blooms between two isolated and damaged individuals, raised to be enemies.

However, with the deadly load of explosives still strapped to him, he must spend 48 hours in the city, caught between the men that sent him—who can blow up his bomb remotely, the Israeli police patrolling the streets and his new-found companions. Spending this time with Keren and his new friends, Tarek discovers the spark of life returning to fill his soul, but when the weekend ends, Tarek must make the decision of his life.

Director: Dror Zahavi
Producer: Shlomo Mograbi, Zvi Spielmann, Haike Wiehle-Timm, Eviatar Dotan, Rami Damri
Writer: Ido Dror & Jonatan Dror
Starring: Shredi Jabarin as Tarek & Hili yalon as Keren
Featuring: Shlomo Wishinski as Katz & Michael Moshonov as Shlomi

Languages: Hebrew with English subtitles
Run Time: 100 minutes
Genre: Drama
Warning: Mature Content

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Screening

Baywalk Muvico
Saturday, March 6
7 p.m.

Tampa Theatre
Sunday, March 14
3:30 p.m.

Summary:

It tells the story of a young Israeli who has recently returned from India and who is so in love with a Russian prostitute that he decides to kidnap her from her Georgian pimp. In order to do so, he borrows a gun and hails a jitney taxi. But problems arises when he realizes that the cab is not empty and he finds himself involving the other passengers in his scheme: a young, sexy female soldier who just broke up with her boyfriend, a new-age waitress on her way to a meditation festival in the desert, a yeshiva student carrying a very sacred Streimel and a French civil servant who suffers from the Jerusalem Syndrome and believes he is the Prophet Jonas from the Bible.

This small, improbable group joins forces to free Ivana and then starts running for their lives towards the desert offering a unique experience of tolerance, freedom and bonding.

Director: Emanuel Naccache & Stephane Belaisch
Producer: Emanuel Naccache & Stephane Belaisch
Starring: Lionel Abelanski, Dan Herzberg, Liron Levo, Lucy Dubinchek, Albert Iluz, Emanuel Halperin

Languages: Hebrew, French and English with English subtitles
Run Time: 87 minutes
Genre: Narrative, Comedy
Warning: Mature Content

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Screening

Baywalk Muvico
Saturday, March 6
9 p.m.

Q & A with local Jewish Actress Francine Wolf directly following the film

Summary:

Jenny faces the hurdles of adolescence without her mother, who died young, though she has the support of her brother and their loving father. But some situations call for a mother’s touch. Jenny’s mother, anticipating her own death, prepared four letters for Jenny – letters that will help her through an unplanned pregnancy and a trip from her home in Argentina to Israel, where she uncovers a long-held family secret, and the difference between infatuation and love.

Director: Diego Musiak
Producer: Andrea Baub

Languages: Spanish with English subtitles
Run Time: 96 minutes
Genre: Drama

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Screening

Baywalk Muvico
Sunday, March 7
1 p.m.

Summary:

Thirteen-year-old Esther has thick glasses, parents who don't understand her, a pet duck and no friends at her hoity-toity private school where everyone seems to be blonde and beautiful. As she and her twin brother approach their Bar and Bat mitzvahs - a rite of passage that coincides with Esther's inner turmoil - she is befriended by a young girl named Sunni from the local public school. By pretending to be a Swedish exchange student, Esther is able to hang out with Sunni and her posse of "bad girl" friends. For the first time, she learns about kissing, sex, class differences and friendship, ultimately discovering that it is much more fun to be herself then to try to fit in with the popular crowd. Written and directed by first-time director Cathy Randall, HEY, HEY features impressive performances by Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) as Sunni and Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine) as Sunni's eccentric mom.

Director: Cathy Randall
Screenwriter: Cathy Randall
Cinematographer: Anna Howard
Editor: Danny Cooper
Principal Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Danielle Catanzariti, Toni Collette

Languages: English
Run Time: 103 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Coming-of-Age
Warnings: Language and mature content 13+

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Screening

Baywalk Muvico
Sunday, March 7
1 p.m.

Q & A with director Khen Shalem/Pinellas YAD Happy Hour Pre-Film Party 6:30 p.m.

Summary:

On the Road to Tel-Aviv” is a drama (with comedy elements) that shows how, under the tense reality of war and terror, enemies can sometimes find themselves in the same boat (or in the same bus).

It is a story of a young Israeli who finds himself in a frightening situation when a suspicious looking Arab woman enters the same bus as his fiancée. He then tries to get his fiancée out of the bus without creating too much of a scene, but panic ensues and he must right the situation, as the realities of war, terror, and enemies are exposed.

Writer/Director: Khen Shalem
Producer: Orit Fisher, Adva Benor, Ehud Rafman
Cinematographer: Ofer Inov
Screenplay: Hadar Galron

Languages: Hebrew with English subtitles
Run Time: 15 minutes
Genre: Short, Comedy
Warnings: Language

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Screening

Baywalk Muvico
Thursday, March 11
7:30 p.m.

(double feature with Killing Kasztner)

Pinellas YAD Goes to the Movies

Screening and Q & A with Director Producer Gaylen Ross

Summary:

Israel’s most inflammatory political trial and assassination of the 1950s, of Rezso Kasztner, including the first chilling interview with his murderer....How much should you negotiate with the enemy? In Israel, the debate over that question evoked fury to the point of assassination. Such was the case of Kasztner, a Hungarian Jew who tried to rescue the last million Jews of Europe by negotiating face to face with Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann. Some people considered Kasztner a hero for his eventual heart stopping rescue of almost 1700 Jews on a train to safety in Switzerland, in what became known as “Kasztner’s train.” Yet later this extraordinary act was cast as an act of betrayal.

The film follows Kasztner’s family and survivors; plagued by a legacy they are determined to change. And after 50 years the assassin Ze’ev Eckstein breaks his silence, revealing step by step the events and passions that transformed a young man into an agent of politics and revenge.

Director/Producer/Writer: Gaylen Ross
Executive Producer: DocFactory, Tony Tabatznik
Producer/Co-writer: Andy Cohen
Producer: Noam Shaley, Gux D. Samios & Anne Feinsilber
Composer: Blake Leyh
Director of Photography: Roni Kaldaron & Bob Richman

Languages: English and Hebrew with English subtitles
Run Time: 120 minutes
Genre: Documentary

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Baywalk Muvico
Thursday, March 11
8 p.m.

(double feature with On the Road to Tel Aviv)

Tampa YAD special event Post-Film Party directly following the film

Summary:

An overweight, unmotivated chef lives at home with his mother in the Israeli city of Ramla. He eventually finds work as a dishwasher at a Japanese restaurant where he is introduced to sumo wrestling by his co-workers and finds it a welcome escape from the disapproval of Israeli culture and the diets espoused by his weight-loss group. With the help of the restaurant owner, former sumo coach and self-proclaimed "Japanese Zionist," he and three robust friends find their size is no longer a hindrance but their greatest asset.

Co-directed by Erez Tadmor (Strangers, SJFF 2009) and Sharon Maymon, A MATTER OF SIZE is a relatable story of self-acceptance and determination. It received 13 Israeli Academy Award nominations and has been picked up by the Weinstein brothers for a Hollywood remake.

Director(s): Erez Tadmor & Sharon Maymon

Languages: Hebrew with English subtitles
Run Time: 92 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sport
Warning: Language

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Screening

Tampa Theatre
Saturday, March 13
7 p.m.

Summary:

A group of 16-year old black teens play street-basketball at a Harlem court when a lone 16-year-old white Jewish kid appears, saying, “I got next.” Naturally, the local kids don't want the outsider on their turf. But, when the white kid sinks a half-court shot, the small crowd on the sidelines shouts, "Let him play." There is friction at first, however, during the 3-on-3 ball game, through teamwork and support, the "enemies" come together and win. At the end of the game, two black kids stand together with the white kid—their new teammate—and, as a united threesome, they challenge all the other players, asking, "So, who's got next?" Inspired by a true story.

Director: F.M. Strype
Screenplay: Simon Kinberg
Executive Producer: Michael Hausman
Producers: Jessica Levin, Jenn Smith, Simon Kinberg & Fred Strype

Languages: English
Run Time: 10 minutes

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Screening

Tampa Theatre
Sunday, March 14
1 p.m.

(double feature with Holy Land Hardball)

Q & A sponsored by the St. Petersburg Baseball Commission directly following the film

Summary:

When Boston bagel maker Larry Baras wanted to create a professional baseball league in Israel, his idea was met with incredulity, dismissal and even hostility. He attempted it anyway.

Among the ballplayers swept up in his unlikely quest: a 41-year-old father of three with a Peter Pan complex; a 27-year-old Brooklyn artist/d.j. still finding himself after the disappointment of not being drafted out of college; a 34-year-old father-to-be whose own father, now deceased, fought for Israel's independence in 1948; and a 22-year-old African-American who was told by a preacher at a young age he would one day "play in front of God's people." Also along for the ride are former Jewish major leaguers Art Shamsky, Ken Holtzman, and Ron Blomberg - as team managers in the Israel Baseball League.

Holy Land Hardball is an engaging account of their dream to bring America's pastime to the Middle East.

Producer/Director/Editor: Brett Rapkin & Erik Kesten
Executive Producer: Matthew Hiltzik
Associate Producer: Sami Mustaklem & Abe J. Schear
Original Music: Jeremiah Lockwood

Languages: English
Run Time: 84 minutes
Genre: Documentary, Sport

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Screening

Tampa Theatre
Sunday, March 14
1 p.m.

(double feature with Got Next)

Summary:

When the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra flies from Egypt to Israel to perform at the opening of an Arab culture center; they are left stranded at the airport. The band tries to make their way on their own, only to find themselves in a desolate, small Israeli town, somewhere in the heart of the desert. A lost band in a lost town. Tired, hungry, and confused, they find shelter at a restaurant run by the pretty but brash Dina. It’s clear that Dina is bored with her lonely life, so she talks Tewfiq into letting the band stay over for the night.

Director: Eran Kolirin
Cast: Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri, Khalifa Natour

Languages: Arabic, English and Hebrew with English subtitles
Run Time: 89 minutes
Warning: Mature Content 13+

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Screening

Marshall Center at USF
Monday, March 15
7 p.m.

(free to all college students & faculty)