The Other Israel Film Festival has announced its lineup for its 17th annual festival, to take place in person at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan and virtually November 2-9 in New York. The festival remains the only American film festival focused on both Israeli and Palestinian cinema. This year, it proudly continues its tradition of providing a platform for important conversations on this tumultuous region.
The festival presents more than a dozen feature-length premiere films, two TV series, and its first-ever two-day symposium: the Other Israel Democracy Summit. The Democracy Summit will host conversations with world-renowned experts and filmmakers relating to the unprecedented democracy movement in Israel.
The week-long festival features in-person premieres and filmmaker Q&As at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan on the Upper West Side. Films and conversations will be available to stream online throughout the festival and during a special extension through November 12.
The Other Israel Film Festival, founded in 2007, presents high-quality cinema that inspires conversation and takes an in-depth look into Israeli and Palestinian societies and of underrepresented populations in Israel. The festival explores human stories and social issues for Israel and its neighbors through dramatic and documentary films, as well as panels and events about history, culture, and identity.
The 17th Annual Other Israel Film Festival boasts international and New York premieres, with films from the UK, Israel, Palestine, and the US. Other Israel will host the New York Premiere of Israel’s 2024 Academy Award entry Seven Blessings by Ayelet Menahemi, about a family uniting at a wedding and confronting the past.
The festival will open with the Tribeca Film Festival-selected film: The Future by Noam Kaplan, which through a futuristic story of a murder investigation brings a Palestinian and Israeli woman together. The film also sets the ground for the Democracy Summit as it brings to light the question of the future of Israeli society. The festival will close with the World Premiere of The Other by Joy Sela, a film that explores Palestinian and Israeli relations through creative individuals.
“The quality of the films continues to go up, and we are overwhelmed by the selections from this year,” said Carole Zabar, founder of the Other Israel Film Festival. “In such a conflicted time, this is the moment for our community here in New York to make a statement and be a part of a movement.”
“I'm inspired by this year's lineup of films,” said Isaac Zablocki, executive director of the Other Israel Film Festival and MMJCCM senior director of film programs. “This is a time for change in Israel, and we are proud to bring these films to New York and ignite the fire that has already started in Israel.”
Other Israel Film Festival otherisrael.org.