Opening Night: Celebrating Israeli Filmmakers from Sapir College

Pepchook

Israel—English with subtitles

Writer/Director/Producer: Tamar Chetzroni

Animated Feature: 9 minutes

Pepchook is going to reunite with her beloved. She is a 23-year-old Israeli, he is a guy named Leafa, who lives in Samoa, in the heart of the Pacific Ocean. They met while working on a cruise ship and immediately became a couple. Now that the work on the cruise is over, she discovers that their relationship, which was stable on the ship, is facing many challenges outside of it.

In the context of the October 7th massacre and the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas, the film “Pepchook”, stands out despite lacking a direct connection to the current events. The film features a poignant scene where an Israeli woman residing in Samoa attempts to explain to her Samoan boyfriend the haunting memories of the Holocaust triggered by the sight of his cut hair. However, he is unfamiliar with the Holocaust, Nazis, or Adolf Hitler. The film captures the struggles of cultural gaps between the Israeli woman, her boyfriend, and the broader Samoan community. Against the backdrop of the recent Israel-Hamas conflict and the rising global antisemitism, the portrayal of being Jewish in today's charged atmosphere gives the film a new and profound significance, highlighting the enduring impact of historical trauma on personal relationships and cultural understanding.

 

Unwell Mind

Israel—Hebrew with English subtitles

Writer/Director: Danna Levy

Producer: Gal Dor

Documentary: 38 minutes

Danna, 28, mentors the intellectually disabled Yael, 36. When their relationships with their partners have them dealing with difficulties, their friendship intensifies, and they encourage one another to make decisions.

Yael Keidar is a Be’eri resident who survived the October 7^th massacre by Hamas terrorists. Sami Keidar, Yael’s father was murdered in the attack. Ofra Keidar, Yael’s mother, was taken as a hostage to Gaza, later to be found dead under Hamas’ control.

 

Elinor

Israel—Hebrew with English subtitles

Director: Linoy Sason,

Producer: Yasmin Hoffman

Feature: 20 minutes

Elinor moves to live in a kibbutz alone to fulfill her dream of writing, but her life is a comedy of errors, and the exact opposite happens. Everything goes wrong; it’s noisy, and it becomes clear to Elinor that being alone is not so simple. Instead of dealing with it, she constantly looks for men to be with at night and will do anything to not sleep alone.

Elinor was filmed on Kibbutz Nir Am. On October 7^th, Inbal Rabin-Liberman, 26, the head of the security squad found herself in the fight for her life and the lives of all the kibbutz members as she faced the onslaught of a dozen Hamas terrorists in the surprise dawn attack. One of the terrorists reached the fence but the team was able to shoot and kill him before he got into the kibbutz. Inbal and her team held off the Hamas terrorists for three and a half hours until the IDF arrived. No one on her team was injured, and the entire kibbutz community survived. Inbal was hailed as a One-woman Rambo.

Related to the film, Yasmin Hoffman, whose father is Stan Hoffman of St. Louis, was the producer of Elinor. She was a resident of Kibbutz Nir Am and was evacuated on October 7^th, along with all other residents, and is still currently a displaced evacuee.

 

Shelters

Israel—Hebrew with English subtitles

Directors: Rachel Albert, Maciej Jankowski

Producers: Rachel Albert, Nitzan Laytner

Documentary: 15 minutes

Israeli society lives under an “emergency routine.” By exploring different kinds of shelters all over Israel, the portraits of the people within the shelters reflects a sense of living on “the holy land.”

Haim Peri, one of the film’s protagonists, has been abducted to the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists. At 79 years old and with a heart disease, Haim confronted the terrorists who infiltrated his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and saved the life of his wife, Osnat Peri.

 

 

People Asleep and the Water as Well

Morocco—Various Languages with English subtitles

Writers: Rotem Elkayam, Maryem Bouzzit

Director: Rotem Elkayam

Producers: Jihane Tahiri, Gali Luzon

Documentary: 19 minutes

Lahcen, a gravedigger in the Jewish cemetery in the heart of Marrakech, is a Muslim who has lived with Jews since childhood. Until the day he dies, Lahcen will continue to open the house of the dead to Jews from around the world.

Filmed just one year before the devastating earthquake in Morocco, this documentary sheds light on the story of the ancient Jewish cemetery in the heart of Marrakech. The movie, a result of warm cooperation between Moroccan and Israeli film students, depicts a peaceful life of coexistence and respect between Muslims and Jews in Morocco.

It could not have been anticipated that following the winning of the Best Short Documentary award at the SFJFF, it would become a poignant cinematic memory for both Marrakech and Sderot. No one could have imagined that both cities were soon to be shattered by devastation—one by forces of nature, the other by forces of hatred and violence. On top of its cinematic qualities, the film now also serves as a poignant reminder that hope for a better future still exists.