The 32nd edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival begins this Thursday, July 9, and presents just over 100 new features through Sunday, July 19. Compared to last year’s nearly 50 nonfiction features, this year’s event offers just over 30, including a fair number of new Israeli work, noted below:
Seven titles vie for recognition in the Documentary Competition, including: Herz Frank and Maria Kravchenko’s BEYOND THE FEAR, which profiles Yigal Amir, who assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, and his tabloid-fodder wife; Silvina Landsmann’s HOTLINE, focused on a Tel Avis nonprofit that serves refugees and migrants; Badran Badran’s PENNIES (pictured), about child beggars who support their Palestinian family; and Nirit Aharoni’s STRUNG OUT, a look at the lives of drug-addicted prostitutes. Separately, four docs compete for the Spirit of Freedom Award, including Anat Goren’s MUSSA, about a mute twelve-year-old African refugee in Tel Aviv.
Outside of competition, the JFF Docs section includes Francois Miron’s portrait of experimental film pioneer PAUL SHARITS; while the Israeli Cinema sidebar offers Helen Yanovsky’s profile of teenage boxing hopefuls, JERUSALEM BOXING CLUB; and Tzvika Binder’s strange story of a once popular father/son magic act and their scandalous fall from grace, LIVING IN ILLUSIONS (pictured).
what (not) to doc 