The Romanian Cultural Institute proudly supports the participation of the docu-fiction film "Hotel Dallas" (2016, directed by Livia Ungur and Sherng-Lee Huang) in the competition of the 18th edition of the Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival - "Depth of Field" section, that will take place in Tel Aviv between the 19th and the 28th of May 2016.
Hotel Dallas (2016, 74 minutes, co-production Romania-USA, English and Hebrew subtitles
Friday, 20.05.2016, at 20:15, Tel Aviv Cinematheque
Sunday, 22.05.2016, at 14:15, Tel Aviv Cinematheque
Tickets: 03-6060800 or online http://www.docaviv.co.il/2016-en/films/hotel-dallas/
Directed by: Livia Ungur and Sherng-Lee Huang
Cast: Livia Ungur, Nicu Ungureanu, Patrick Duffy, Sherng-Lee Huang
Details: http://hoteldallas.squarespace.com/
Synopsis: In the 80s, in the twilight of communist Romania, "Dallas" is the only American show allowed on TV. It offers a vision of wealth and glamour that captures the imagination of millions. Among them are Ilie and his daughter Livia. He is a small-time criminal and aspiring capitalist; she is in love with the show's handsome leading man, Patrick Duffy. After communism falls, Ilie builds the Hotel Dallas, a life- copy of the "Dallas" mansion. Livia immigrates to America, becomes a filmmaker, and directs a movie starring Patrick Duffy, as a soap opera character who dies in Texas and wakes up in Romania, in a hotel that looks just like home.
Livia guides her childhood idol on a genre-bending road trip across a Romanian dreamscape--through the failed utopias of communism and capitalism, into a realm of ghosts and lost time.
"Carefree and surreal, never-to-be-tied-down-by-boring-film-school-rules irreverence ... potently pioneering ... The film has finally put me at a loss for words. Or perhaps, more accurately, the words are too many to describe this wondrous work of art, slash documentary, slash cultural commentary, slash love song to both Romania and the United States ... Hotel Dallas looks at filmmaking as art ... a great canvas spread across the beams of a movie theater, to be painted, slowly and in increasingly more daring colors." - The Huffington Post
"Eccentric, esoteric, and impressionistic ... lovely in its loopy rhythms and luscious visuals, a charmingly personal take on shared cultural history." - The Hollywood Reporter
Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival is the only film festival in Israel dedicated exclusively to documentary cinema and is Tel Aviv's largest film festival. About 90 Israeli and international documentaries are presented during the festival. A vibrant Doc loving audience of over 35,000 people flocked the festival halls during the previous editions. The competitive section of the program has become one of its main focal points. Every year the festival runs an international competition which presents recent innovative and compelling documentaries, an Israeli competition that includes the finest vintage of local Documentary filmmaking community.
The festival hosts film professionals from Israel and abroad and facilitates professional networking and audience interaction. Alongside dozens of screenings, the festival holds discussion panels, special events, artists' master classes, and workshops attended by the festival's international guests, members of the Israeli film industry, and members of the public.
More information, schedule and tickets: http://www.docaviv.co.il/2016/.
