Everything is Illuminated

(Directed by Liev Schreiber, USA, 2005, 106 min, English, Ukrainian and Russian with English subtitles)

Based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is Illuminated tells the story of a young man’s quest to find the woman who saved his grandfather in a small Ukrainian town that was wiped off the map by the Nazis. With quirky characters, absurd circumstances and a powerful series of revelations, his journey is at once funny and very moving, an exploration of memory, secrets, friendship, love and the enduring legacy of the Holocaust. Starring Elijah Wood and Eugene Hutz.

The screening will be preceded by a short briefing on some of the work World Jewish Relief is doing in the Former Soviet Union where the film is set.

In association with World Jewish Relief.

Paper Dolls: UK PREMIERE

(Dir. Tomer Heymann, Israel, 82 mins. Hebrew with English subtitles)

On their one day off each week the ‘Dolls’ perform as drag artistes, while the rest of their time is spent as carers of elderly religious Jewish men in Israel. They are among 300,000 foreign immigrants who came to Israel in the wake of the Second Intifada to fill jobs that had previously been handled by Palestinians. Their status is precarious because they cannot file for citizenship and they risk their visas being revoked if they lose their jobs.

Whilst Heyman exposes the trauma of this group of illegal workers, he also captures their humanity, charm and good humour even as they work gruelling hours to send money back to their families.

The ‘Paper Dolls’:  Jan Jan, Chiqui, Nits and Jojo will attend the screening which will be followed by a Q & A with Jason Solomons – Journalist and Broadcaster and Chairman of the Critics’ Circle Film Section.

Israeli Film Academy Award, 2006.

Berlin International Film Festival – Panorama Audience Award 2006.

Paper Dolls is part of JCC’s Safe Space series in conjunction with JCORE.

Tel Aviv Stories

(Directed by Ayet Menaheim, Nirit Yaron, Yitzhak Ginsberg, 1991. 104 mins. Hebrew, English Subtitles.)

One of the first Israeli features by women directors, Tel Aviv Stories marks a turning point in local filmmaking by way of its focus on three young women in early 1990s Tel Aviv. The film, which won four Israeli Academy awards, is made up of three episodes, each dedicated to a day in the life of a woman.

These intriguing and unpredictable stories are cleverly interwoven in a sassy, surprising and utterly satisfying film.