2 to 8 March 2023 sees the biggest event of Israeli cinema in Portugal. The Days of Israeli Cinema celebrates its 14th edition, and as usual, Cinema City Alvalade is again the setting for this major festival.

CINEMA SABAYA
Director: Orit Fouks Rotem
Screenplay: Orit Fouks Rotem
Actors: Amal Murkus, Aseel Farhat, Joanna Said, Liora Levi, Marlene Bajali, Orit Samuel, Ruth Landau, Yulia Tagil
Rating: M/12
Running time: 92 minutes
Date of première: 02/03/2023

Nine Arab and Jewish women take part in a video workshop organised by Rona, a young film director who teaches them to document their lives. As each woman makes her own home movie and shares it with the others, the group dynamic forces them to challenge their viewpoints and beliefs as they come to know each other better – each other and themselves.

GREENER PASTURES
Director: Assaf Abiri, Matan Guggenheim
Screenplay: Assaf Abiri, Matan Guggenheim
Actors: Alon Neuman, Anastasia Fein, Doval´e Glickman, Gadi Yagil, Joy Rieger, Nira Rabinovitch, Odelia Mora-matalon, Shlomo Bar-aba
Rating: M/12
Running time: 90 minutes
Date of première: 02/03/2023

Dov is forced by his family to move into a home. Even since he lost his savings he feels broken and blames the State for the situation. The home is like a prison and all Dov thinks is of getting out, getting his old house back and living there till the end of his days. When he hears that the other residents smoke medicinal cannabis, he realises that the weed will be his salvation – by selling it, not smoking it. Will Dov risk everything to make his dream come true?

MATCHMAKING
Director: Erez Tadmor
Screenplay: Hava Divon, Yaki Reisner, Erez Tadmor
Actors: Amit Rahav, Guy Loel, Irit Kaplan, Liana Ayoun, Maor Schwitzer, Netta Shpigelman, Reymonde Amsallem, Roy Assaf
Rating: M/12
Running time: 96 minutes
Date of première: 02/03/2023

Moti Bernstein is the son any mother would want, the student any Rabbi would love to teach, the ideal companion in Yeshiva, the ideal pair for any bride. He has it all: a good family, a brilliant mind, and he’s not so bad looking… He is looking for a wife and meets some of the best girls in the Jewish orthodox world, but will fall for the one girl he cannot have. The only one he wants...

MY NEIGHBOUR ADOLF
Director: Leon Prudovsky
Screenplay: Dmitry Malinsky, Leon Prudovsky
Actors: Danharry Colorado, David Hayman, Jaime Correa, Jan Szugajew, Kineret Peled, Olivia Silhavy, Udo Kier
Rating: M/12
Running time: 96 minutes
Date of première: 02/03/2023

South America, 1960. A bad-tempered and solitary survivor of the Holocaust has convinced himself that his new neighbour is Adolf Hitler. No one takes him seriously, so he begins an independent investigation to prove his claim. However, when the evidence seems inconclusive, Poslki is forced to engage with the enemy in order to obtain irrefutable proof.

PARIS BOUTIQUE
Director: Marco Carmel
Screenplay: Paula Zimerman-targownik, Orit Binderman
Actors: Angel Bonanni, Arie Tcherner, Batel Moseri, Joséphine Draï, Moris Cohen, Nelly Tagar, Nicolas Carpentier, Shay Menahem
Rating: M/12
Running time: 81 minutes
Date of première: 02/03/2023

Louise, a Jewish lawyer, reaches Paris to close an important real estate deal. She hires Neta, a part-time driver, who sees an opportunity to stick to Louise at all costs. When the two visit Jerusalem, they discover a secret liaison between an ultraorthodox woman and a Christina man, who communicate through notes hidden in the cracks of the Wailing Wall. In an attempt to solve the mystery, Louise and Neta follow the intriguing couple through the back streets of the city. A comedy of errors in the heart of Jerusalem and a story of the friendship between two women at a critical time in their lives.

SILENT
Director: Shemi Zarhin
Screenplay: Shemi Zarhin
Actors: Eli Danker, Esti Zakheim, Levana Finkelstein, Liat Harlev, Liron Ben-shlush, Moris Cohen, Oshri Cohen, Tsahi Halevi
Rating: M/12
Running time: 130 minutes
Date of première: 02/03/2023

Avihu, a controversial TV presenter, has returned from a period of suspension at the height of the campaign for Prime Minister. The main candidate is the son of the ex-Prime Minister and his esteemed former student, who keeps his mouth shut. He is not the only one to be silent, Avihu’s mother has also miraculously stopped talking. Caught in the maelstrom of his mother’s silence, Avihu is on the road to his own trial.

Source: Cinema City