Israeli Film Festival To Be Held In Kolkata To Honor The 30th Anniversary Of Diplomatic Relations Between India And Israel

An Israeli Film Festival is being held in Kolkata to honor the 30th  anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. Five films will be shown to give Kolkatans a taste of Israeli cinema, where art is formed from struggle and survival.This year's festival will be held at Satyajit Ray's Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) and organised by Israel's Indian Embassy in partnership with Goutam Ghose's Forum for Film Studies and Allied Arts (FFSAA). The SRFTI main auditorium will host the event from May 9th  to May 13th...

For Ashoke Vishwanathan of SRFTI, Israeli cinema is crucial because it depicts the political environment in an art form which is both educational and charming, according to The Statesman's interview with him. In the 1960s and 1970s, Israeli films in the Bourekas genre were popular.'" It highlighted the fight between Ashkenazim and Mizrahim over class and ethnicity. In satire or slapstick, it was frequently shown. He explains. "The milieu is supreme in Israeli cinema."

Gideon Raff's film "Tyrant," which depicts the lives of those caught in the middle of a political upheaval, had a huge impact. Almost all Israeli films deal with the Arab-Israeli conflict. His other works, such as Prisoners of War and The Spy, have also shed light on some of the state's political aspirations." Yuval Adler's film "Bethlehem," which is set to be shown at the festival, will provide similar glimpses, he said.

During the Kolkata International Film Festival in 2013, renowned Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai came to Kolkata to attend screenings of his films and to launch Mr. Vishwanathan's book, 'Bengal in the Century of Cinema and Beyond.' He claimed that Gitai's documentaries and feature films have impressed viewers around the world.

In the forthcoming festival, Beni Torati's "Ballad of the Weeping Spring," Avi Nesher's "The Matchmaker," and Talya Lavie's "Zero Motivation" and Nir Bergman's "Saving Neta" will all be shown.  Mr. Vishwanathan said that SRFTI had held film festivals before in places like Greece and Italy.