Meir Fenigstein is set to open the 36th Israeli Film Festival in Los Angeles, two and a half years after it last took place. Originally scheduled for November 2023, the festival was postponed twice due to the war. The past few years have been challenging for the festival; in 2020, it was held entirely online because of COVID-19, and in 2021, it was delayed until May 2022.
Now, as Fenigstein is getting ready to open the festival on Nov. 13, he promises the festival has one of its best lineups yet. “Since we didn’t have a festival last year, we have 10 films that were nominated for the Ophir Award [the Israeli equivalent of the Oscars],” he said.
“Since we didn’t have a festival last year, we have 10 films that were nominated for the Ophir Award [the Israeli equivalent of the Oscars],” he said.
That selection includes Ayelet Menahemi’s “Seven Blessings,” winner of 10 Israeli Academy Ophir Awards 2023 including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.It also includes Sophie Artu’s “Halisa,” Maya Kenig’s “The Milky Way,” Maya Dreifuss’ “Highway 65” and Adar Shafran’s “Running on Sand,” a four-time Ophir nominee.
“Come Closer,” this year’s official Israeli selection for the Best International Feature Oscar, an Israeli-Italian drama written and directed by Tom Nesher, will open the festival. The film’s story is rooted in Nesher’s personal experience of losing her brother Ari in a car accident in 2018, shortly after his 17th birthday. Nesher, the daughter of legendary director Avi Nesher, channels this family tragedy into a youth drama about Eden — a spirited young girl who loses her younger brother, Nati, in an accident. After his death, Eden discovers that her brother had a secret girlfriend named Maya. She embarks on an obsessive quest to learn more about Maya, and the relationship forged between the two girls becomes a way to fill the emptiness left in their lives.
“Come Closer” has already received acclaim, winning the top prize in the “Viewpoints” category at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, which celebrates bold and unique voices in independent film. At the 2024 Jerusalem Film Festival, the film earned the Best Debut Film award, Best Actress for Lia Elalouf and a music award for Ginevra Nervi.
Organizing this year’s festival has been especially challenging. Fewer films were produced due to the war, and travel constraints added to the difficulty, with most airlines canceling flights to and from Israel, leaving only El Al operational — and fully booked. Fenigstein, who typically arrive in Los Angeles weeks before the festival, was only able to secure a flight the week before. He’s also faced obstacles arranging flights for the filmmakers he plans to bring to L.A. for post-screening Q&As.
Fortunately, El Al has joined as a sponsor this year, and they are not the only ones. It seems like there is nothing like the war in Israel to open up hearts and pockets. “I have 25 Jewish organizations sponsoring the festival,” Fenigstein said in a phone interview from his home in Tel Aviv, listing groups like Jewish National Fund-USA, the IAC (Israeli American Council), the Jaffa Institute, USC Dornsife and the Nazarian Center for Israeli Studies at UCLA.
This year, the festival will honor two individuals. The first is Ynon Kreiz, chairman and CEO of Mattel, who will receive the 2024 IFF Industry Leadership Award for his transformative leadership and the global success of “Barbie.” “Surprisingly enough, he was a volunteer at the festival in 1993,” Fenigstein recalled. “Back then, he was a UCLA student responsible for the volunteers who stuffed envelopes. Today, he’s Mattel’s chairman.”
Comedian and actor Shaike Levi, a member of Israel’s legendary comedy trio Hagashash Hahiver, will receive the 2024 IFF Lifetime Achievement Award during the festival’s closing night ceremony.
Next year, when the festival will celebrate its 37th anniversary, audiences might catch Fenigstein himself on the big screen. The former drummer for the Israeli pop group Kaveret and actor known for “The Band” and “Aunt Clara” unexpectedly returned to acting this year after a chance encounter at the Cannes Film Festival. “I met director Nadav Lapid there and he told me he was getting ready for a new film,” Fenigstein recalled. “I thought it was great — I liked the concept; it was something close to my heart. I didn’t expect what happened next.”
A week later, Lapid called him, offering him a role. And so, 40 years after his last appearance on screen, Fenigstein found himself once again in front of the camera. “I can’t divulge anything about the plot or the name of the film,” he said. “I can only say it was fun. And I had a great time.”
The Israeli Film Festival will take place between November 13-26 at the Laemmle Royal Theatre (West Los Angeles) and the Laemmle Town Center 5 (Encino). To purchase tickets for all screenings visit www.israelfilmfestival.com.
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