The Arava International Film Festival will take place in the period November 24- December 3, 2016, in the Asush Nature Reserve in the Arava Desert. Romania will be represented in this year's edition by Romanian films directed by Cristi Puiu, "Sieranevada" (2016), and Cristian Mungiu, "Tales from the Golden Age I" (2009), " Tales from the Golden Age II" (2009) and "Graduation" (2016).
With the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv, Cristian Mungiu will be present at the festival and will participate at the Q&A session after the screening of the film "Graduation" on December 2, at 21:00.
Sieranevada (2016, 173 minutes, Hebrew and English subtitles)
Co-production Romania- France- Bosnia and Herzegovina - Croatia
Sunday, 27.11.2016, at 20:00
Tickets: 0523666646 or online http://www.aravaff.co.il/en/Sieranevada
Director: Cristi Puiu
Cast: Mimi Brănescu, Judith State, Bogdan Dumitrache, Dana Dogaru, Sorin Medeleni
Synopsis: One of the best films of the year by any standard. At three hours long, and taking place almost entirely in a stuffy, crowded Bucharest apartment, this minimalist saga is not only a brilliant portrait of the contemporary Romanian middle class, but it's a deeply relevant probe into the basic aspects of our everyday existence, filled with smart, perceptive reflections on the relativity of truth, on the failings of memory, the interpretation of history, the significance of religion and much more. And yet, it is not in the least bit pretentious - and most of the on-screen characters will have recognizable counterparts all over the world. It all takes place during a wake, with the entire family gathered in the home of the deceased forty days after his death for a traditional communion, in the course of which generational gaps, family feuds, historical perspectives and everyday miseries are expertly explored. The film was chosen to represent Romania for the 2016 Foreign Language Oscars.
Tales from the Golden Age I (2009, 80 minutes, English subtitles)
Monday, 28.11.2016, at 20:30
Tickets: 0523666646 or online http://www.aravaff.co.il/en/Tales_of_Golden_Age_1
Synopsis: A collection of shorts produced and partly directed by Cristian Mungiu (see Graduation), portraying the bitter, the funny, the ridiculous and the absurd aspects of life in Ceausescu's Romania. First shown in Cannes 2009, it won audience awards in Romania, which is no wonder due to dealing with subjects the audience there is too painfully aware of.
"The Legend of the Official Visit" a lighthearted story set the day before a village receives a Communist Party visit. That the officials are unlikely to actually stop makes no difference to the apparatchiks who come to ensure everything is in order.
"The Legend of the Party Photographers" is set within the bowels of Bucharest party headquarters, where a photographer (Avram Birau) and his nephew/assistant (Paul Dunca) are put through their paces in a rush to doctor photos of Ceausescu where the great leader appears too small or inappropriately attired. In "The Tale of the Greedy Policeman" Alexa (Ion Spadaru) and wife (Virginia Mirea) have to figure out how to kill a pig without waking the neighbors.
"The Legend of the Zealous Activist," follows a young party worker (Calin Chirila) too eager to follow official party dictates.
Tales from the Golden Age II (2009, 80 minutes, English subtitles)
Tuesday, 29.11.2016, at 21:00
Tickets: 0523666646 or online http://www.aravaff.co.il/en/Tales_of_Golden_Age_2
Synopsis: A collection of shorts produced and partly directed by Cristian Mungiu (see Graduation), portraying the bitter, the funny, the ridiculous and the absurd aspects of life in Ceausescu's Romania. First shown in Cannes 2009, it won audience awards in Romania, which is no wonder due to dealing with subjects the audience there is too painfully aware of.
Vlad Ivanov, a simple truck driver in "The Legend of the Chicken Driver", unquestioningly obeys the rules, until an attractive restaurant owner (Tania Popa) suggests they help themselves to some fresh eggs. In "Air Sellers," Crina (the radiant Diana Cavalioti, a real find) is a student in need of money who meets Bughi (Radu Iacoban), a small-time scam artist conning apartment dwellers out of glass bottles and selling them on the market. An additional short, "Turkey Girl", made by Mungiu earlier, shows a young girl who has to give up her beloved turkey, which she has been trying so desperately to tame, in order to cover the hospital bills of her mother.
Director: Hanno Höfer, Răzvan Mărculescu, Cristian Mungiu, Constantin Popescu
Ioana Uricaru
Cast: Diana Cavallioti, Radu Iacoban, Vlad Ivanov, Tania Popa, Liliana Mocanu,
Alexandru Potocean, Teo Corban, Emanuel Pirvu, Călin Chirilă, Romeo Tudor, Avram Birău, Paul Dunca, Viorel Comănici, Ion Sapdaru, Virginia Mirea, Gabriel Spahiu
Graduation (2016, 128 minutes, Hebrew and English subtitles)
Friday, 2.12.2016, at 21:00
Tickets: 0523666646 or online http://www.aravaff.co.il/en/Graduation
Director: Cristian Mungiu
Cast: Adrian Titieni, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Rares Andrici
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with director Cristian Mungiu
Synopsis: Romeo Aldea (49), a physician living in a small mountain town in Transylvania, has raised his daughter Eliza with the idea that once she turns 18, she will leave to study and live abroad. His plan is close to succeeding - Eliza has won a scholarship to study psychology in the UK. She just has to pass her final exams - a formality for such a good student. On the day before her first written exam, Eliza is assaulted in an attack that could jeopardize her entire future. Now Romeo has to make a decision. There are ways of solving the situation, but none of them using the principles he, as a father, has taught his daughter.
The Arava International Film Festival is a unique event, which takes place each November in the heart of the Ashush nature reserve, next to the community of Zuqim. This year's edition of the festival - the fifth in number - will take place November 24th through December 3rd. The program of the festival has been carefully selected; the films represent the top tier of global cinema, and have been screened at the most prestigious film festivals in the world in the past year. Among the films that will be featured in the festival are films for adolescents and children, as well as short films that were produced and shot during the last year in the Arava. The filmmakers will be in attendance for the screenings, presenting their work and meeting with the audience after each screening.
Festival website: http://www.aravaff.co.il/en
