If you can’t get enough of Israeli movies, the stars and creators of some of the best the genre has to offer are now a mouse click away. Every month, the Zionist Movie Club offers Q&A discussions via Zoom with some of the biggest names in Israeli cinema.
It’s the brainchild of Peggy Shapiro, executive director of the Midwest branch of the Israel education nonprofit StandWithUs, and has presented 20 films since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, including “The Band’s Visit,” “The Matchmaker” “The Little Traitor,” “Maktub,” “The Other Story,” “Ushpitzin,” “Walk on Water” and most recently “Not Idly By.”
“We were in an extraordinary situation, isolated and disoriented in a new reality. I love films, and I love to discuss good films. I love Israel, and I like to keep Israel in people’s hearts and minds. Thus came the idea for a Zionist Movie Club,” Shapiro explained. “Frankly, I thought we would have a couple dozen people. Now we’re at almost 900 from across the globe. In what can be defined as unbridled chutzpah, I decided to invite some of Israel’s most celebrated actors, filmmakers and critics. They all said yes!”
There are two films on the September schedule, both excellent comedies. In “The Human Resources Manager,” Mark Ivanir (“Schindler’s List,” “The Beauty and the Baker,” “The Good Shepherd” and currently Netflix’s “Away”) stars in the title role of a Jerusalem bread company executive who deals with one misadventure after another—including a calamity-filled road trip in rural Romania–after one of the bakery’s employees is killed in a bombing. A film festival favorite, the film won four Ophirs (the Israeli Academy Award) in 2010,
Ivanir will participate in a Q&A via Zoom on Sept. 15 at 9 a.m. PT. You can watch the film beforehand on Tubi or Amazon Prime Video and register for the discussion here.
On Sept. 29, Zionist Movie Club will present “A Matter of Size,” a charming, crowd- pleaser starring Itzik Cohen (“Fauda’s” Captain Ayub) in a story about a group of overweight misfits who find self-esteem and empowerment through the sport of sumo wrestling. (Cohen’s lonely character also finds a sweet romance.) Nominated for 13 Ophir Awards in 2009, it won three.
Watch the film on Tubi, Vimeo or ChaiFlicks before the discussion, which will take place at 9 a.m. PT.
All Zionist Movie Club events are free, but donations are encouraged.
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