search
youtube
instagram
facebook
search

Subscribe

WhatsApp

Drama 2024

Born for You

Please be aware – the screening is NOT in Tel-Aviv Cinematheque.

.

A film adaptation of a book by the same name, based on a true story.
We invite you to this moving new Italian film that is also very relevant to the current Israeli reality.

Luca Trapanese is a single Catholic gay man, who in 2017 wants to adopt Alba, a baby with Down Syndrome, who was abandoned at the hospital at birth. In the past, the Italian authorities have denied Luca’ requests to adopt a child or a baby. Alba was left at the hospital while 30 heterosexual families had rejected her. A meeting with a human rights lawyer encourages Luca to appeal to the court in hope they will agree to let him adopt Alba.
Today, thanks to the precedent set by Luca and Alba’s case, Italy allows single men to become foster families. Luca was the first single gay man in Italian history that managed to adopt a child. He didn’t do that to be a groundbreaker or to fight the authorities, he just wanted a family.

In 2017 TLVFest had screened an earlier film by director Fabio Mollo – “Il padre d’Italia”

High Tide

Brazilian tourist Lourenço is left behind when his American boyfriend deserts him in Provincetown at the end of the summer season. Lourenço passes the time with random hookups, talking to the locals who hire him to do maintenance and flirting with a hot tourist named Maurice (James Bland). Lourenço has to decide how to deal with shadows of his past that won’t let go and the harsh reality of being an undocumented immigrant in the USA.
In his debut film, director Marco Calvani puts Brazilian actor Marco Pigossi (“Gen V”, “Invisible City”) at the heart of a sexy and melancholic story about an immigrant after an unexpected breakup. Alongside Pigossi you’ll find Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei, Bill Irwin (“Rustin”) and Mya Taylor (“Tangerine”).
Marco Calvani created a thoughtful and daring film that raises questions on queer life in the modern world.

“Love & Revolution” and panel

אהבה ומהפכה

The screening will be preceded by panel and discussion “The LGBT struggle in Israel”
(app. 30 min)

The year is 1977 and Miguel is going to be the first one in his family to go to university. But Miguel has different dreams: to become a singer and take part in a popular TV competition. He’s exposed to social activists, finds himself doing drag in underground clubs and becomes an activist himself, all this in secret and against the will of his mother Reme, a 50 year-old woman, who works as a seamstress in a luxury suits shop.
In the 70’s homosexuality was still taboo in Spain, the police regularly used violence against the LGBTQ community and being associated with the gay community was an offence that could get you in jail. When Miguel is caught in drag by the police, his conservative mother decides to step up and join Miguel’s friends – other activists from the gay community, to fight the police, the court and the government in order to make Spain a better place.
In his debut film, director Alejandro Marín manages to get into the hearts of his audience with a thrilling and sweeping dramedy on the right to love. A film that is a salute to all those who fought and are still fighting to live in a liberal country with equal rights and no fear.
The film’s original name, “Te estoy amando locamente” (“I love you madly”), refers to the power of mother’s love to her son, and therefore it is also a film that honors all the mothers that support their LGBTQ children, and even if sometimes it’s hard for them, they would fight for their sons and daughters till the end.
The film is based on real events.

In association with the Embassy of Spain

Haze

New film by the director Matthew Fifer. Like in his debut “Cicada”, Fifer gives us a complex, dark and sexy profile of a man in search for answers to his troubled past.
This time round Fifer doesn’t act, but leaves the stage to Cole Doman (“Mutt”) who plays Joe, an investigating journalist, who returns to his hometown after rehab.
Joe is struggling to find a steady job, and focuses on the big story that will put his career back on track: The mysterious death of eight gay men in the psychiatric hospital that now stands abandoned in his hometown.
At the same time Joe begins a new and thrilling affair with Luke (Brian J Smith, “Sense8”). But who is the new stranger that arrived in town at the same time as Joe? Does the death of Joe’s sister when they were kids have anything to do with the deaths of the men in the psychiatric hospital?

Viewing is 18+ due to explicit sexual content and violence.

Riley

Dakota Riley is a beloved football star of his local high school. His dominant father and teammates have a clear plan for him, but Riley, who wants to be loved by everyone, is having a hard time loving himself. He does anonymous hook-ups, suffers from anxiety and lives in constant fear of being outed in a conservative town and a football team that is all toxic masculinity.
“Riley” is a fascinating film of the journey of a young man trying to figure out who he is, what he wants from himself and what is the life path he should be taking. The story focuses on his conflicted emotions and denied desires, all the while navigating adolescence.
“Riley” was written and directed by Benjamin Howard, and it is the director’s first full length feature, after he’s made several award winning short films. Howard is definitely a refreshing discovery and will surely find his place in Hollywood in the next few years. Jake Holley gives a powerful and complex performance as Riley.

Ella

France, 2024, 75 min, French and English with Hebrew and English subtitles

In the classic manner of “Sliding Doors”, please welcome the contemporary lesbian version.
Ella wakes up to a frightening number of unanswered calls and a very urgent message from her agent. She’s on a crucial crossroad – an audition that will determine her future. She has to race against the clock to make it on time to the audition, when every decision she makes has its own unique pros and cons, each road provides a different path with different potential to touch hearts, mend family ties, find unexpected romance, succeed or fail in the audition. Which way will lead Ella to her true self?
.

Director: Antony Hickling
Script: Benedict Wells
Producer: Antony Hickling
Cast: Marie Chéru, Leonardo Can, Diana Steinmetz, Noée Andraos, Liia Kalindovskaia

 

Festivals:
Yellowstone International Film Festival 2024
Chéries-Chéris LGBTQI Film Festival 2024
Merlinka International Queer Film Festival 2024
Out On Film – Atlanta’s LGBTQ Film Festival 2024

Block Pass

A breathtaking drama that was shown during the Critics Week at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival
Director Antoine Chevrollier’s first full length feature explores masculinity and sexuality in rural France, and particularly in Longué-Jumelles, the director’s home town, where the film was shot.
Willy and Jojo are best friends, sharing a joint passion for motorcycles. Jojo is a motorcycle racing driver on the way to become famous in the scene and Willy is there to help him live his dream.
When a secret from Jojo’s past is revealed, his fast track to fame crumbles. The two friends embark on a self discovery journey neither of them wanted.
Young stars of the film, Amaury Foucher and Sayyid El Alami, present impressive, authentic and brave performances.
Viewing is 18+ due to explicit sexual content and violence.

Contains depictions of homophobia and self harm.

Unspoken

Jeremy Borison’s moving debut film provides a glimpse into the world of Noam, a religious high school student who comes from a very traditional Jewish-American family. Noam finds a love letter addressed to his grandfather by another man, written before the holocaust, and decides to look for the mystery man who wrote the letter and learn more about his grandfather as well as himself.
Charlie Korman is doing a wonderful job in the lead role. His best friend and love interest who helps him dig into his family secrets (that everyone seems adamant to hide) is played by Israeli actor Michael Zapesotsky (best known for his roles in TV series “Yellow Peppers” and “The Commander”).
“Unspoken” is a moving teen film that encompasses the past, present and the complex experience of being a religious teen in a conservative Jewish environment.

National Anthem

21yo Dylan is a day laborer and a farm hand who works hard to support his family and be a father figure to his younger brother. Dylan is trying to keep on an appearance of stability but there’s something missing in his life. When he gets a temporary job on a communal queer ranch he feels that for the first time he belongs. He finds friends and falls in love. Sky (trans actress Eve Lindley) is a rodeo performer and the partner of the macho ranch owner Pepe. The two are happy to share their bodies with Dylan, but maybe it won’t be enough.
Charlie Plummer shines as the lead with a very natural, quiet and confident performance. Cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi re-imagines the coming-of-age movie against the stunning backdrop of New Mexico. Director Luke Gilford’s debut film is a hallelujah song to the ultimate queer American dream showcasing the real-life International Gay Rodeo Association.

Gondola

In the mountains of west Georgia, a rural community relies on a pair of cable cars that connect two sides of a steep valley. Iva returns to her home village following the death of a relative and takes up a job operating one of the cable car gondolas. She forms a long distance friendship with Nina, the operator of the other gondola. In time, those aerial meetings turn to naughty flirting between the two young women and then deepen into love.
This strange romance is wordless, but has a very unique and original cinematic vision from writer/director Veit Helmer. It is a delightful piece, very visually pleasing, full of fun and charming cinematic ideas. 82 minutes with no dialogue but with a lot of love for the art of cinema as well as its two wonderful heroines. In “Gondola” love truly floats between heaven and earth, and it is simply a film of pure fun.

Additional screening: Haifa Cinematheque, 8.11, 18:00

In association with the Embassy of Germany

© 2023 | הצהרת נגישות | פרטיות  | עיצוב ופיתוח Fatfish - web & mobule design and development