Simon Cowell has canceled his scheduled appearance as a judge on the upcoming season of “X Factor Israel.”
Late last year, the veteran producer and reality TV judge signed a deal to serve as one of the judges on the next season of the Israeli musical reality show, which is slated to begin filming this summer.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for Reshet, which produces “X Factor Israel,” told Variety that Cowell was canceling “for his own reasons.” Reshet declined to say whether Cowell would have any part in the production of “X Factor Israel” outside of judging.
Amid rumors of his cancellation last week, a Reshet representative told Variety that members of Cowell’s staff had reached out with “legitimate concerns” over his participation in the show after the recent violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but that at the time he had made no final decision.
Representatives for...
Late last year, the veteran producer and reality TV judge signed a deal to serve as one of the judges on the next season of the Israeli musical reality show, which is slated to begin filming this summer.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for Reshet, which produces “X Factor Israel,” told Variety that Cowell was canceling “for his own reasons.” Reshet declined to say whether Cowell would have any part in the production of “X Factor Israel” outside of judging.
Amid rumors of his cancellation last week, a Reshet representative told Variety that members of Cowell’s staff had reached out with “legitimate concerns” over his participation in the show after the recent violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but that at the time he had made no final decision.
Representatives for...
- 5/30/2021
- by Amy Spiro
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The 34th Israel Film Festival Los Angeles has confirmed its line-up for this year’s edition, which will be held entirely online for the first time.
Running December 13 – 27, the fest will screen 23 features, including two U.S. premieres, Israel’s Oscar submission this year, Asia, as well as a number of past Ophir award winners. The event will also host Q&As after each film with talent.
Asia opens the festival having recently won Best Film at this year’s Ophir Awards, Israel’s top film awards, which automatically makes it the Oscar contender for 2021. The film also won Ophirs for Best Actress, Supporting Actress and Cinematography.
The festival will present its 2020 Iff Lifetime Achievement Award to Meir Feningstein, the event’s founder and executive director. It will also screen concert documentary Poogy / Kaveret 2013 Reunion Concert, centered on the band for which Feningstein is the drummer.
“As the world faces enormous disruption and loss,...
Running December 13 – 27, the fest will screen 23 features, including two U.S. premieres, Israel’s Oscar submission this year, Asia, as well as a number of past Ophir award winners. The event will also host Q&As after each film with talent.
Asia opens the festival having recently won Best Film at this year’s Ophir Awards, Israel’s top film awards, which automatically makes it the Oscar contender for 2021. The film also won Ophirs for Best Actress, Supporting Actress and Cinematography.
The festival will present its 2020 Iff Lifetime Achievement Award to Meir Feningstein, the event’s founder and executive director. It will also screen concert documentary Poogy / Kaveret 2013 Reunion Concert, centered on the band for which Feningstein is the drummer.
“As the world faces enormous disruption and loss,...
- 11/30/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
In the good traditions of weddings there is something old, new, borrowed and blue about the second feature from Israeli director Talya Lavie, whose debut Zero Motivation - an enjoyably acidic M*A*S*H like black comedy about Israeli national service - won the top prize at Tribeca but never made it to general release in the UK.
Old, is perhaps too strong a word, but her latest certainly borrows from a fine tradition of films about lovers set over the course of a single day or night, although it leans towards the feisty end of the market occupied by the likes of 2 Days In Paris rather than the more loved up Richard Linklater approach. Newlyweds Eleanor (Avigail Harari) - her red shoes a hint of fireworks to come - and Noam (Ran Danker) have just arrived at their palatial honeymoon suite on a cloud of loved-up bliss - "You're so sweet,...
Old, is perhaps too strong a word, but her latest certainly borrows from a fine tradition of films about lovers set over the course of a single day or night, although it leans towards the feisty end of the market occupied by the likes of 2 Days In Paris rather than the more loved up Richard Linklater approach. Newlyweds Eleanor (Avigail Harari) - her red shoes a hint of fireworks to come - and Noam (Ran Danker) have just arrived at their palatial honeymoon suite on a cloud of loved-up bliss - "You're so sweet,...
- 10/10/2020
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Is a wedding the happy ending of a love story, or just the beginning? And is it even possible to get really ready to the moment? These are some of the questions risen by Israeli female director Talya Lavie in her sophomore work “Honeymood” which follows the 2004 debut, the record-breaking box office hit “Zero Motivation”, a film following two utterly demotivated young women in the Israely Army, assigned to a remote military outpost. The work earned Lavie the top prize at Tribeca in 2014, as well as the Nora Ephron Prize and six Israeli Academy Awards. Of course, it also set the bar very high for her following effort.
“Honeymood” is screening at the BFI London Film Festival
The Wedding reception has just finished and newlywed Eleanor (Avigail Harari) and Noam (Ran Danker) open the doors of the Grand suite in the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem, ready to spend there their first night as a married couple.
“Honeymood” is screening at the BFI London Film Festival
The Wedding reception has just finished and newlywed Eleanor (Avigail Harari) and Noam (Ran Danker) open the doors of the Grand suite in the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem, ready to spend there their first night as a married couple.
- 10/8/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
The interesting thing about Honeymood is that on paper it sounds like the most tiresome premise ever conceived. Another run at the ‘one crazy night’ formula with a kooky, mismatched married couple on their honeymoon. However, by leaning into the contrived narrative Israeli director Talya Lavie crafts a film far more creative than After Hours by way of The Heartbreak Kid.
Part of the reason the film works so well is the characterisation of the bride and groom (Avigail Harari and Ran Danker). Lavie clearly understands that the premise would fall apart were it not for the insecurities and foibles of its principle characters. So, the script digs deep to find the richness of character that would justify such an absurd journey. In this case a fanciful drama teacher, prone to superstition and a relentless people-pleaser of a husband.
When one of the couple’s wedding gifts turns out to...
Part of the reason the film works so well is the characterisation of the bride and groom (Avigail Harari and Ran Danker). Lavie clearly understands that the premise would fall apart were it not for the insecurities and foibles of its principle characters. So, the script digs deep to find the richness of character that would justify such an absurd journey. In this case a fanciful drama teacher, prone to superstition and a relentless people-pleaser of a husband.
When one of the couple’s wedding gifts turns out to...
- 10/7/2020
- by Liam Macleod
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Lavie is best known for her first feature, Tribeca prize winner Zero Motivation.
On the eve of the Efm, London-based WestEnd Films has snapped up worldwide rights to Honeymood, a romantic comedy from Talya Lavie. the director of Zero Motivation.
Honeymood is a romantic comedy set over the course of one night in Jerusalem. A bride and groom arrive at a lavish hotel suite after their wedding. Instead of relaxing and enjoying a romantic night, they get into a fight that soon develops into a dazed, urban odyssey, confronting them with past loves, repressed doubts, and the lives they have left behind.
On the eve of the Efm, London-based WestEnd Films has snapped up worldwide rights to Honeymood, a romantic comedy from Talya Lavie. the director of Zero Motivation.
Honeymood is a romantic comedy set over the course of one night in Jerusalem. A bride and groom arrive at a lavish hotel suite after their wedding. Instead of relaxing and enjoying a romantic night, they get into a fight that soon develops into a dazed, urban odyssey, confronting them with past loves, repressed doubts, and the lives they have left behind.
- 2/20/2020
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
French pay-tv group Canal Plus has acquired rights to Tom Salama and Daphna Levin’s critically acclaimed Israeli drama “Miguel,” which world premiered at the inaugural Canneseries festival in April.
Sold by Add Content, “Miguel” won the special performance prize for best ensemble cast at Canneseries. It was written by Salama and Levin (“In Treatment”) and produced by David Mandil’s Movie Plus Productions for Israeli broadcaster Hot.
The drama tells the story of Tom, a gay man who is determined to fulfill his dream of adopting a child. The series follows Tom as he lands in Guatemala and adopts Miguel, a 5-year-old orphan who stubbornly refuses to embrace his new life. Sixteen years later, when Miguel travels to Guatemala to search for his biological mother, Tom does everything he can to prevent Miguel from finding out a secret he has been hiding from him all this time.
The cast...
Sold by Add Content, “Miguel” won the special performance prize for best ensemble cast at Canneseries. It was written by Salama and Levin (“In Treatment”) and produced by David Mandil’s Movie Plus Productions for Israeli broadcaster Hot.
The drama tells the story of Tom, a gay man who is determined to fulfill his dream of adopting a child. The series follows Tom as he lands in Guatemala and adopts Miguel, a 5-year-old orphan who stubbornly refuses to embrace his new life. Sixteen years later, when Miguel travels to Guatemala to search for his biological mother, Tom does everything he can to prevent Miguel from finding out a secret he has been hiding from him all this time.
The cast...
- 7/25/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Doubtful Rogovin Brothers Reviewed by: Harvey Karten Director: Eliran Elya Screenwriter: Eliran Elya Cast: Ran Danker. Yaakov Aderet, Osher Amara, Liron Ben-Shlush, Elroi Fass, Melodi Frank, Adar Hazazi Gersch, Shaley Girgin, Elad Hudara, Riki Hudara, Eli Menashe, Batel Moseri, Idan Naftali Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 5/28/18 Opens: June 3, 2018 at the Seattle International […]
The post Doubtful Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Doubtful Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 5/29/2018
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Cannes — Omri Givron, co-creator of famed Israeli series “Hostages,” proved the big winner at the first Canneseries festival taking Best Series for the fast paced Israel/Colombia-set drama-thriller “When Heroes Fly,” which he created, wrote and directed.
Produced by Eitan Mansuri’s Spiro Films (“Foxtrot” and “Lebanon”), “When Heroes Fly” is sold by Keshet Intl. It turns on a former 2006 Lebanon war combatant who reunites with his estranged commando unit comrades to rescue the love of his life, abducted by a cartel in Colombia, and who’s disappearance, exacerbating the impact gov his war experience, has reduced her to a guilt ridden psychiatric case, .
Kicking off with an impactful portrayal of an ambush in the Lebanon war in its first episode, seen at Cannes, “When Heroes Fly” looks set to develop into a series on the trauma and loss violence wreaks an a once close-knit group of friends.
Beyond “When...
Produced by Eitan Mansuri’s Spiro Films (“Foxtrot” and “Lebanon”), “When Heroes Fly” is sold by Keshet Intl. It turns on a former 2006 Lebanon war combatant who reunites with his estranged commando unit comrades to rescue the love of his life, abducted by a cartel in Colombia, and who’s disappearance, exacerbating the impact gov his war experience, has reduced her to a guilt ridden psychiatric case, .
Kicking off with an impactful portrayal of an ambush in the Lebanon war in its first episode, seen at Cannes, “When Heroes Fly” looks set to develop into a series on the trauma and loss violence wreaks an a once close-knit group of friends.
Beyond “When...
- 4/11/2018
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The event launches in Cannes this April.
Canneseries, the international TV festival launching in Cannes this April (7-11), has revealed the ten series in its official competition selection.
Scroll down for full line-up
The titles include Killing Eve created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) and starring Sandra Oh and Fiona Shaw, and Aquí En La Terra, created by Gael García Bernal with Kyzza Terrazas and Jorge Dorantes.
The titles were selected by Canneseries artistic director Albin Lewi.
The festival was founded by David Lisnard, mayor of Cannes and presided by former French culture minister Fleur Pellerin. It will run alongside Miptv.
Canneseries, the international TV festival launching in Cannes this April (7-11), has revealed the ten series in its official competition selection.
Scroll down for full line-up
The titles include Killing Eve created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) and starring Sandra Oh and Fiona Shaw, and Aquí En La Terra, created by Gael García Bernal with Kyzza Terrazas and Jorge Dorantes.
The titles were selected by Canneseries artistic director Albin Lewi.
The festival was founded by David Lisnard, mayor of Cannes and presided by former French culture minister Fleur Pellerin. It will run alongside Miptv.
- 3/13/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
BBC America’s “Killing Eve” has been selected for this year’s first-ever Canneseries TV festival competition — making it the only U.S. show in a field of ten international productions. “Killing Eve” will be up for one of six awards handed out on April 11, along side new series from Belgium, Germany, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Norway, South Korea, and Spain.
The ten shows will be vying for Best Music, Best Screenplay, Special Performance Prize, Best Performance and Best Series trophies.
As previously announced, author and producer Harlan Coben has been named jury president for the competition, which takes place April 7 to 11. The U.S.-based Coben will be joined on the panel by actress Paula Beer (Germany), screenwriter and director Audrey Fouché (France), actress Melisa Sözen (Turkey), composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer (Chile/Canada) and actor Michael K. Williams (USA).
Coben’s new series “Safe,” which will air in France...
The ten shows will be vying for Best Music, Best Screenplay, Special Performance Prize, Best Performance and Best Series trophies.
As previously announced, author and producer Harlan Coben has been named jury president for the competition, which takes place April 7 to 11. The U.S.-based Coben will be joined on the panel by actress Paula Beer (Germany), screenwriter and director Audrey Fouché (France), actress Melisa Sözen (Turkey), composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer (Chile/Canada) and actor Michael K. Williams (USA).
Coben’s new series “Safe,” which will air in France...
- 3/13/2018
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
We’re back with the latest edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes release details for The Black Dahlia Haunting, information on a new episode of Ghost Trek, a review of Vamp U, and much more:
Release and Distribution Details for The Black Dahlia Haunting: “Zeroinside Films and Pinnovating Productions are proud to announce that their paranormal thriller “The Black Dahlia Haunting”, written and directed by Brandon Slagle and starring Devanny Pinn (Hold Your Breath), Britt Griffith (SyFy’s Ghosthunters), Noah Dahl (Bad Teacher), Alexis Iacono, Cleve A. Hall (SyFy’s Monster Man, Troll), Jessica Cameron (Silent Night), and Sarah Nicklin (Alice D, The Disco Exorcist) has signed distribution agreements with Jy Entertainment (China) and the newly-formed Origin Releasing (United States and Canada). The film is also represented internationally by Phoenix Group Releasing.
Additionally, the film was recently selected...
Release and Distribution Details for The Black Dahlia Haunting: “Zeroinside Films and Pinnovating Productions are proud to announce that their paranormal thriller “The Black Dahlia Haunting”, written and directed by Brandon Slagle and starring Devanny Pinn (Hold Your Breath), Britt Griffith (SyFy’s Ghosthunters), Noah Dahl (Bad Teacher), Alexis Iacono, Cleve A. Hall (SyFy’s Monster Man, Troll), Jessica Cameron (Silent Night), and Sarah Nicklin (Alice D, The Disco Exorcist) has signed distribution agreements with Jy Entertainment (China) and the newly-formed Origin Releasing (United States and Canada). The film is also represented internationally by Phoenix Group Releasing.
Additionally, the film was recently selected...
- 3/17/2013
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
by Shannon Hilson, MoreHorror.com
Saying that I didn’t know what to expect from Rabies when I first got it for review is really the understatement of the year, because it represents a real first for me. I’d never – to the best of my knowledge – seen any Israeli films before and I feel quite confident in saying that if I have, they were probably not slasher films. I was pretty much prepared for anything. However, I don’t think I was truly prepared to see a film that was quite this intriguing and well thought out as this was.
Out of the gate, Rabies seems like it’s not going to cover anything that’s so new it’s mind-blowing. You’re introduced to a series of different character groups and they all appear to be in a situation that’s all too familiar if you’re in...
Saying that I didn’t know what to expect from Rabies when I first got it for review is really the understatement of the year, because it represents a real first for me. I’d never – to the best of my knowledge – seen any Israeli films before and I feel quite confident in saying that if I have, they were probably not slasher films. I was pretty much prepared for anything. However, I don’t think I was truly prepared to see a film that was quite this intriguing and well thought out as this was.
Out of the gate, Rabies seems like it’s not going to cover anything that’s so new it’s mind-blowing. You’re introduced to a series of different character groups and they all appear to be in a situation that’s all too familiar if you’re in...
- 3/12/2012
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Israeli horror flick 'Rabies' (Aka 'Kalevet') will be spreading onto DVD next week when it arrives on shelves across the Us thanks to Image Entertainment. It screened here in the UK late last August at London's Film 4 FrightFest as well as at the UK Jewish Film Festival held last November. The movie comes from writer/directing team Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado and it's unleashed on DVD from 28 February. 'Rabies' stars Lior Ashkenazi, Danny Geva, Ania Bukstein, Menashe Noy, Ran Danker, Henry David, Ofer Shechter, Liat Harlev, Yael Grobglas and Efrat Boimold. Check out the DVD artwork along with the trailer for the flick below....
- 2/22/2012
- Horror Asylum
*here be some spoilers.
**full disclosure: a DVD screener of this film was provided by Image Entertainment.
Directors/writers: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado.
Cast: Lior Ashkenazi, Danny Geva and Ania Bukstein.
Kalevet or Rabies is setting a precedent here on 28Dla. This is the first Israeli shot horror film or film of any kind to be reviewed on this site. And this is a great introduction to Israel's burgeoning film market. Rabies is classified as a serial killer film; however, the killer does not directly take anyone's life. The murder is left up to the incompetence of the cast. Much like William Shakespeare's "A Comedy of Errors," miscommunication and identity swaps create much of confusion and some of the enjoyment.
The film's story is quite complex because the plot will zig when you expect it to zag. Essentially, four young friends hook up and set out to a tennis tournament.
**full disclosure: a DVD screener of this film was provided by Image Entertainment.
Directors/writers: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado.
Cast: Lior Ashkenazi, Danny Geva and Ania Bukstein.
Kalevet or Rabies is setting a precedent here on 28Dla. This is the first Israeli shot horror film or film of any kind to be reviewed on this site. And this is a great introduction to Israel's burgeoning film market. Rabies is classified as a serial killer film; however, the killer does not directly take anyone's life. The murder is left up to the incompetence of the cast. Much like William Shakespeare's "A Comedy of Errors," miscommunication and identity swaps create much of confusion and some of the enjoyment.
The film's story is quite complex because the plot will zig when you expect it to zag. Essentially, four young friends hook up and set out to a tennis tournament.
- 2/8/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
DVD Release Date: Feb. 28, 2012
Price: DVD $ 27.97
Studio: Image Entertainment
Some murderous schlemiel is loose in the woods in the Israeli horror film Rabies.
The 2010 foreign-language film Rabies is touted on its press materials as being “Israel’s first horror film.” Oy.
More a slasher-comedy hybrid than a straight-ahead horror movie, Rabies looks in on a rampaging psychotic serial killer who crosses paths with Ofer (Henry David) and Tali (Liat Harley), a brother and sister who have run away from home. When Tali finds herself ensnared in the killer’s trap, it’s up to Ofer to find help. Left alone, Tali soon becomes mixed up with an unlikely group of characters, ranging from a set of tennis players to a squad of policemen. Together, the group try to eliminate the killer, but first they must figure out his true identity.
Written and directed by first-time filmmakers Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado,...
Price: DVD $ 27.97
Studio: Image Entertainment
Some murderous schlemiel is loose in the woods in the Israeli horror film Rabies.
The 2010 foreign-language film Rabies is touted on its press materials as being “Israel’s first horror film.” Oy.
More a slasher-comedy hybrid than a straight-ahead horror movie, Rabies looks in on a rampaging psychotic serial killer who crosses paths with Ofer (Henry David) and Tali (Liat Harley), a brother and sister who have run away from home. When Tali finds herself ensnared in the killer’s trap, it’s up to Ofer to find help. Left alone, Tali soon becomes mixed up with an unlikely group of characters, ranging from a set of tennis players to a squad of policemen. Together, the group try to eliminate the killer, but first they must figure out his true identity.
Written and directed by first-time filmmakers Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado,...
- 1/4/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
We have cover art and disc information on the Israeli horror film Rabies, which will be distributed by Image Entertainment:
Chatsworth, CA – Horror cinema has finally found its new source! On February 28, Image Entertainment introduces Israel’s slasher film debut, Rabies. A festival favorite, garnering rave reviews at the Tribeca 2011 Film Festival and the Fantasia 2011 Film Fest, Rabies features a cast that devotees of Israeli cinema will surely recognize, including Lior Ashenazi (winner, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Footnote), Ania Bukstein (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – The Secrets) and Ran Danker (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Eyes Wide Open). Rabies will be available on DVD for an Msrp of $27.97.
Rabies surprises and shocks with its unexpected combination of horror and humor, of paranoia and panic. When a psychotic serial killer is on the loose, his path of rampage crosses paths with Ofer and Tali,...
Chatsworth, CA – Horror cinema has finally found its new source! On February 28, Image Entertainment introduces Israel’s slasher film debut, Rabies. A festival favorite, garnering rave reviews at the Tribeca 2011 Film Festival and the Fantasia 2011 Film Fest, Rabies features a cast that devotees of Israeli cinema will surely recognize, including Lior Ashenazi (winner, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Footnote), Ania Bukstein (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – The Secrets) and Ran Danker (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Eyes Wide Open). Rabies will be available on DVD for an Msrp of $27.97.
Rabies surprises and shocks with its unexpected combination of horror and humor, of paranoia and panic. When a psychotic serial killer is on the loose, his path of rampage crosses paths with Ofer and Tali,...
- 11/30/2011
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
by MoreHorror.com
The vicious looking Rabies, which boasts being the first Israeli Horror film, will infect DVD stands on February 28th from Image Entertainment. Catch the "Rabies" trailer under the official media release below.
From The Release:
Horror cinema has finally found its new source! On February 28, Image Entertainment introduces Israel’s slasher film debut, Rabies. A festival favorite, garnering rave reviews at the Tribeca 2011 Film Festival and the Fantasia 2011 Film Fest, Rabies features a cast that devotees of Israeli cinema will surely recognize, including Lior Ashenazi (winner, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Footnote), Ania Bukstein (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – The Secrets) and Ran Danker (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Eyes Wide Open).
Rabies surprises and shocks with its unexpected combination of horror and humor, of paranoia and panic. When a psychotic serial killer is on the loose, his path of rampage crosses paths with Ofer and Tali,...
The vicious looking Rabies, which boasts being the first Israeli Horror film, will infect DVD stands on February 28th from Image Entertainment. Catch the "Rabies" trailer under the official media release below.
From The Release:
Horror cinema has finally found its new source! On February 28, Image Entertainment introduces Israel’s slasher film debut, Rabies. A festival favorite, garnering rave reviews at the Tribeca 2011 Film Festival and the Fantasia 2011 Film Fest, Rabies features a cast that devotees of Israeli cinema will surely recognize, including Lior Ashenazi (winner, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Footnote), Ania Bukstein (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – The Secrets) and Ran Danker (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Eyes Wide Open).
Rabies surprises and shocks with its unexpected combination of horror and humor, of paranoia and panic. When a psychotic serial killer is on the loose, his path of rampage crosses paths with Ofer and Tali,...
- 11/30/2011
- by admin
- MoreHorror
The first ever Israeli horror film, Rabies, is ready to infect U.S. shores, and we have all the details you need to decide whether you'll receive it with open arms or go get one of those nasty multi-needle shots to the stomach!
From the Press Release
Horror cinema has finally found its new source! On February 28, Image Entertainment introduces Israel’s slasher film debut, Rabies (Kalavet). A festival favorite, garnering rave reviews at the Tribeca 2011 Film Festival and the Fantasia 2011 Film Fest, Rabies features a cast that devotees of Israeli cinema will surely recognize, including Lior Ashenazi (winner, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Footnote), Ania Bukstein (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – The Secrets) and Ran Danker (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Eyes Wide Open).
Rabies surprises and shocks with its unexpected combination of horror and humor, of paranoia and panic. When a psychotic serial killer is on the loose,...
From the Press Release
Horror cinema has finally found its new source! On February 28, Image Entertainment introduces Israel’s slasher film debut, Rabies (Kalavet). A festival favorite, garnering rave reviews at the Tribeca 2011 Film Festival and the Fantasia 2011 Film Fest, Rabies features a cast that devotees of Israeli cinema will surely recognize, including Lior Ashenazi (winner, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Footnote), Ania Bukstein (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – The Secrets) and Ran Danker (nominee, Award of the Israeli Film Academy – Eyes Wide Open).
Rabies surprises and shocks with its unexpected combination of horror and humor, of paranoia and panic. When a psychotic serial killer is on the loose,...
- 11/29/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Israel's first ever horror flick 'Rabies' (Aka 'Kalevet') is getting a second wind here in the UK. After it's positive reviews following its first UK screening at the Film 4 FrightFest in London at the end of August it seems that 'Rabies' will be spreading itself onto the big screen at next month's UK Jewish Film Festival. The work of writer/director team Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado the horror flick will be showing at both the The Coronet Cinema (Notting Hill Gate, London) on 12 November at 10pm and also at the Peckham Plex (Peckham, London) on 17 November at 8.30pm. So if you're in the vacinity why not pick up some tickets. Image Entertainment have already picked up the Us rights for distribution stateside. Lior Ashkenazi, Danny Geva, Ania Bukstein, Menashe Noy, Ran Danker, Henry David, Ofer Shechter, Liat Harlev, Yael Grobglas and Efrat Boimold all star.
- 10/27/2011
- Horror Asylum
Rabies (Kalavet) Written and Directed by: Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado Starring: Lior Ashkenazi, Danny Geva, Ania Bukstein, Menashe Noy, Ran Danker, Henry David, Ofer Shechter, and Liat Harlev Take a dash of Very Bad Things and cross it with Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, and you might get something like Rabies. Ironically, the story has nothing to do with Rabies, and I have no idea why that is the English title. The film has the distinction of being the first horror export out of Israel, and it is a nice surprise. The story begins with a brother and sister seeking refuge in the woods because their, um, relationship is frowned upon. Unfortunately for the sister, a lunatic has dotted the woods with archaic (yet effective) booby traps, and she finds herself at the bottom of one of the traps. Simultaneously, a foursome of coeds takes a wrong turn on...
- 9/30/2011
- by Shannon
- FilmJunk
Eyes Wide Open
Directed by Haim Tabakman
Written by Merav Doster
Israel | Germany | France – 2010
Showing at Cinéma du Parc in its second run in Montreal following last year’s limited release, Haim Tabakman’s ‘Eyes Wide Open’ is so overwhelmingly a limited-appeal, art-house offering as to seem almost destined for festival success.
This ineffably implausible man-and-man romance tentatively unfolds deep in the heart of Mea Shearim, Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood, where Aaron (played by the wistfully bearded Zohar Strauss) a Hassidic father-of-many assumes the stewardship of the familial butcher shop after the recent death of his father and hesitantly hires an assistant in the person of Ezri, a stray, toothsome, puppy-eyed yeshiva dropout with a risky-yet-oh-so-enticing penchant for same-sex friendship.
Ezri, the driving force behind the tortuous romance, is in pious Aaron’s own words a masterpiece of G-d’s creation, crossing righteous men’s paths so as to anneal...
Directed by Haim Tabakman
Written by Merav Doster
Israel | Germany | France – 2010
Showing at Cinéma du Parc in its second run in Montreal following last year’s limited release, Haim Tabakman’s ‘Eyes Wide Open’ is so overwhelmingly a limited-appeal, art-house offering as to seem almost destined for festival success.
This ineffably implausible man-and-man romance tentatively unfolds deep in the heart of Mea Shearim, Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood, where Aaron (played by the wistfully bearded Zohar Strauss) a Hassidic father-of-many assumes the stewardship of the familial butcher shop after the recent death of his father and hesitantly hires an assistant in the person of Ezri, a stray, toothsome, puppy-eyed yeshiva dropout with a risky-yet-oh-so-enticing penchant for same-sex friendship.
Ezri, the driving force behind the tortuous romance, is in pious Aaron’s own words a masterpiece of G-d’s creation, crossing righteous men’s paths so as to anneal...
- 6/9/2011
- by Zornitsa
- SoundOnSight
Israeli horror flick 'Rabies' recently had it's Us rights picked over at Cannes by Image Entertainment. This being Navot Papushado and Aharon Keshales' feature debut it's a huge deal especially by getting to run this theatrically so kudos to them both. A new Us one-sheet has been released which you can check out below. 'Rabies' stars Lior Ashkenazi, Danny Geva, Ania Bukstein, Menashe Noy, Ran Danker, Henry David, Ofer Shechter, Liat Harlev, Yael Grobglas and Efrat Boimold. Mongrel Media managed to score the Canadian rights....
- 5/20/2011
- Horror Asylum
At the beginning of the new movie Eyes Wide Open (just out on DVD), a man wrestles with a door that has been tightly locked. Finally, the man, an ultra-Orthodox (or Haredi) Jew living in Jerusalem, has to break the lock in order to open the butcher shop that has been passed onto him with the death of his father.
It's a metaphor, of course. The man, Aaron, is married to a woman, but he's secretly gay. When a hot homeless Yeshiva student, Ezri, comes around looking for a job in the re-opened butcher shop, they're soon drawn together in a secret love affair. But they're both members of one of the most socially conservative communities on earth — one that has literal "purity" police and has absolutely no place for same-sex relationships.
In other words, Aaron is going to spend a lot of time wrestling with that forbidding lock, but in the end,...
It's a metaphor, of course. The man, Aaron, is married to a woman, but he's secretly gay. When a hot homeless Yeshiva student, Ezri, comes around looking for a job in the re-opened butcher shop, they're soon drawn together in a secret love affair. But they're both members of one of the most socially conservative communities on earth — one that has literal "purity" police and has absolutely no place for same-sex relationships.
In other words, Aaron is going to spend a lot of time wrestling with that forbidding lock, but in the end,...
- 11/16/2010
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
Eyes Wide Open; The Special Relationship; The Ghost; Rapt; Robin Hood: Extended Cut; Cop Out
There may well be precedents, but I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a movie about a passionate gay relationship played out amid Jerusalem's orthodox Hasidic community. It says a lot about Eyes Wide Open (2009, 12, Peccadillo), however, that the apparent novelty of its subject matter (which has provoked the inevitable moniker "a Jewish Brokeback Mountain") never overshadows the haunting power of the film. Zohar Strauss stars as Aaron, the married butcher who invites enigmatic student Ezri (Ran Danker) into his home and business with emotionally and socially disruptive results. Religion and dawning sexuality clash as the two men embark upon a furtive, forbidden relationship under the mournful eye of Aaron's increasingly estranged wife, to the mounting hostility of the strictly demarcated community.
Demonstrating an unfussy empathy for his subjects, director Haim Tabakman...
There may well be precedents, but I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a movie about a passionate gay relationship played out amid Jerusalem's orthodox Hasidic community. It says a lot about Eyes Wide Open (2009, 12, Peccadillo), however, that the apparent novelty of its subject matter (which has provoked the inevitable moniker "a Jewish Brokeback Mountain") never overshadows the haunting power of the film. Zohar Strauss stars as Aaron, the married butcher who invites enigmatic student Ezri (Ran Danker) into his home and business with emotionally and socially disruptive results. Religion and dawning sexuality clash as the two men embark upon a furtive, forbidden relationship under the mournful eye of Aaron's increasingly estranged wife, to the mounting hostility of the strictly demarcated community.
Demonstrating an unfussy empathy for his subjects, director Haim Tabakman...
- 9/18/2010
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Eyes Wide Open Directed by: Haim Tabakman. Starring: Zohar Strauss, Ran Danker, Tzahi Grad, Isaac Sharry This searing portrait of sexuality and religion was launched at The Cannes Film Festival to an enthusiastic response. Although its subject - the cultural suffocation of gay lovers - is hardly new material, that the film explores it in the context of marriage, age-disparity and Orthodox Judaism is provocative indeed. This beautifully understated film is not to all tastes - its patient approach would induce restless toe-tapping in those more accustomed to the energy of, say, Iron Man. But if thoughtful, often painful exploration of suppressed humanity is to your taste, then Eyes Wide Open is your film.
- 8/17/2010
- FilmInk.com.au
Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner in David Slade‘s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (top); Daniel Stamm‘s The Last Exorcism (upper middle); Zohar Strauss, Ran Danker in Haim Tabakman‘s Eyes Wide Open (lower middle); Isabelle Huppert in Claire Denis‘ White Material (bottom) David Slade‘s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse isn’t included on the Los Angeles Film Festival’s Thursday, June 24, schedule. Even so, the world premiere of Eclipse, starring pop idols Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, is the top Los Angeles movie attraction of the day — possibly of the year. The world premiere of the third installment of the Twilight franchise — following Catherine Hardwicke‘s Twilight (2008) and Chris Weitz‘s New Moon (2009) — will be held at the Nokia Theatre in downtown L.A. on Thursday at midnight. Eclipse also features Bryce Dallas Howard, Dakota Fanning, Xavier Samuel, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene, Elizabeth Reaser,...
- 6/23/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart in David Slade‘s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (top); Daniel Stamm‘s The Last Exorcism (upper middle); Zohar Strauss, Ran Danker in Haim Tabakman‘s Eyes Wide Open (lower middle); Heidi Ewing, Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, Rachel Grady, Eugene Jarecki, and Morgan Spurlock‘s Freakonomics (bottom) David Slade‘s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is nowhere to be found on the Los Angeles Film Festival’s schedule for Thursday. But whether or not it’s an "official" Laff presentation, the world premiere of Eclipse is the top Los Angeles movie attraction of the day — possibly of the year. Starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, and featuring Bryce Dallas Howard, Dakota Fanning, Xavier Samuel, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene, Elizabeth Reaser, Peter Facinelli, and Jackson Rathbone, Eclipse is one of the most eagerly anticipated movie events of 2010. The world premiere of the third installment of...
- 6/23/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Eliza Triana in Hilda Hidalgo‘s Of Love and Other Demons (top); Samuel Maoz‘s Lebanon (upper middle); Zohar Strauss, Ran Danker in Haim Tabakman‘s Eyes Wide Open (lower middle); Jung Sung-Il‘s Cafe Noir (bottom) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright will be present to talk about his career at the Los Angeles Film Festival on Sunday evening, June 20. Star Trek‘s J. J. Abrams will be Wright’s conversation partner. Other Sunday highlights at the Laff include Samuel Maoz‘s Lebanon, Jung Sung-Il‘s Cafe Noir, Haim Tabakman‘s Eyes Wide Open, and Hilda Hidalgo‘s Del amor y otros demonios / Of Love and Other Demons. Winner of the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice Film Festival and of four Ophir Awards from the Israeli Film Academy, Lebanon takes place inside an Israeli tank on the first day of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon...
- 6/20/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Eyes Wide Open is a sober, reserved look at a passionate gay love affair in an ultra-orthodox area of Jerusalem. The men involved are Aaron, a kosher butcher with four young children (Zohar Strauss from Lebanon) and Ezri (Ran Danker), a handsome, young Talmudic student. The movie treats this tragic affair and the intemperate, unfeeling reaction to it in the local community with tact and sympathy. It's rather like the grandly romantic Brokeback Mountain scaled down to London's Stamford Hill.
DramaWorld cinemaPhilip French
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DramaWorld cinemaPhilip French
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- 5/15/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
This is the Pure Movies review of Einaym Pkuhot, directed by Haim Tabakman starring Zohar Strauss, Ran Danker, Tinkerbell, Tzahi Grad, Isaac Sharry, Avi Grainik and Eva Zrihen-Attali. You might not necessarily assume that an Isreali film about forbidden gay love in the ultra-orthodox Jewish community of Jerusalem would be full of meat gags. And yet, as Aaron and Ezri wrestle with an almost insurmountably large, phallic hunk of beef, and Aaron’s suspicious wife tries to both intimidate and punish with the size of her meat order, the otherwise tense, restrained and dangerous subtext becomes, for a moment, funny.
- 5/15/2010
- by Nell Frizzell
- Pure Movies
Lebanon (15)
(Samuel Maoz, 2009, Israel) Yoav Donat, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov. 93 mins
You can see why they made Top Gun about jet fighters. This is set entirely within the confines of an Israeli tank during the 1982 Lebanon war, and it's not much of a recruitment ad. The gimmick is both the movie's strength and its weakness. The space and visibility restrictions make this a neat minimalist thriller and a nervy, unpredictable combat experience, but it's one safely insulated from the questions – and victims – of the real-life conflict. Despite the sweat and grime, you feel like the really dirty stuff is going on elsewhere.
Robin Hood (12A)
(Ridley Scott, 2010, Us) Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max Von Sydow, Mark Strong. 140 mins
Scott attempts to pull another Gladiator, ditching the familiar tights and tropes and reimagining the legend through a combination of mangled history, epic set pieces and deadly earnest heroism. It's more of a prequel,...
(Samuel Maoz, 2009, Israel) Yoav Donat, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov. 93 mins
You can see why they made Top Gun about jet fighters. This is set entirely within the confines of an Israeli tank during the 1982 Lebanon war, and it's not much of a recruitment ad. The gimmick is both the movie's strength and its weakness. The space and visibility restrictions make this a neat minimalist thriller and a nervy, unpredictable combat experience, but it's one safely insulated from the questions – and victims – of the real-life conflict. Despite the sweat and grime, you feel like the really dirty stuff is going on elsewhere.
Robin Hood (12A)
(Ridley Scott, 2010, Us) Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max Von Sydow, Mark Strong. 140 mins
Scott attempts to pull another Gladiator, ditching the familiar tights and tropes and reimagining the legend through a combination of mangled history, epic set pieces and deadly earnest heroism. It's more of a prequel,...
- 5/14/2010
- by The guide
- The Guardian - Film News
A Brokeback Mountain for the Orthodox Jewish community that has some telling points to make about faith and flesh, writes Steve Rose
It was probably only a matter of time before someone did a Brokeback Mountain on the taboo-stacked world of Orthodox Judaism, although it's hard to imagine a more niche target audience. Like Ang Lee's movie, this is responsible, restrained and intelligent, but if anything, the risky subject material is handled with too much caution. Zohar Strauss (also to be seen in this week's Lebanon) plays Aaron, a devout Jerusalem butcher who divides his time between his family, his faith and his chopping board, until he's distracted by another type of beefcake: a handsome young drifter whom he takes in as an apprentice (Ran Danker). "He is a curse to righteous men," others warn, but Aaron embraces his sexual ambivalence as a metaphysical challenge – does sinning bring one closer to God?...
It was probably only a matter of time before someone did a Brokeback Mountain on the taboo-stacked world of Orthodox Judaism, although it's hard to imagine a more niche target audience. Like Ang Lee's movie, this is responsible, restrained and intelligent, but if anything, the risky subject material is handled with too much caution. Zohar Strauss (also to be seen in this week's Lebanon) plays Aaron, a devout Jerusalem butcher who divides his time between his family, his faith and his chopping board, until he's distracted by another type of beefcake: a handsome young drifter whom he takes in as an apprentice (Ran Danker). "He is a curse to righteous men," others warn, but Aaron embraces his sexual ambivalence as a metaphysical challenge – does sinning bring one closer to God?...
- 5/13/2010
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Distributed by New American Vision, Eyes Wide Open will stay one more week at New York City’s Cinema Village. Directed by Haim Tabakman and written by Merav Doster, the forbidden gay love story set among Israel’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community — where homosexuality isn’t exactly welcome — stars Zohar Shtrauss and Ran Danker. The information below is from the film’s press release. Aaron, a respectable butcher in Jerusalem’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community, is married to Rivka and is a dedicated father of four children. One day, he hires Ezri, a handsome twenty-two year old student, as an apprentice and soon develops feelings for him. As the relationship grows, Aaron starts to neglect his family and community [...]...
- 2/9/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
By Harvey Karten - Isn't it great to live in New York City, where next-door neighbors in your apartment building don't know your name and don't care? Unfriendly? Perhaps. But who needs the opposite? Certainly not one Aaron (Zohar Strauss), the principal in Haim Tabakman's freshman picture about a fellow in his thirties who lives on one of the winding streets of Jerusalem's ultra-orthodox neighborhoods. The snoopy people of the area know everybody's business and they care enough to send the very worst packing if they don't like what he's doing. And what an "evil" person is doing, in their estimation, is to violate some aspect of the first Five Books of the Bible. Ruth and Naomi, David and Jonathan, and Daniel and Ashpenaz may have had more than casual friendships with each other, but Leviticus 18:22 states "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with women: it is abomination.
- 1/24/2010
- Arizona Reporter
- Today's nine title announcement for the Berlin Festival’s main competition section (the 58th edition runs between Feb. 7-17.) is an early sign that the 2008 year in film is rich in international film from all corners of the globe and that the upcoming Cannes film festival is going to be loaded once again with heavyweight titles. Out of the titles I'm most looking forward to seeing are the little known Mike Leigh project called Happy-Go-Lucky and Erick Zonca’s French thriller Julia starring Tilda Swinton, and the postponed domestic release of Isabel Coixet’s Elegy. Here is the 9-list:Feuerherz (Heart of Fire) Germany/Austria (adapted from the bestseller by Senait Mehari) by Luigi Falorni (The Story of the Weeping Camel) with Letekidan Micael Julia France by Erick Zonca (The Dreamlife of Angels) with Tilda Swinton, Aidan Gould, Saúl Rubinek Lady Jane France By Robert Guédiguian (Le Promeneur du champ de Mars,
- 1/9/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
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