Twelfth Annual Other Israel Film Festival Comes to New York City

The Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan's 12th Annual Other Israel Film Festival is pleased to announce this year's event will be held November 1-8, 2018. Screenings will be held at the JCC on 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, with additional special screenings at JCC Harlem, New York University's King Juan Carlos Center, and The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Brooklyn. Individual tickets and festival passes are now available at otherisrael.org.

The Other Israel Film Festival provides a platform for Israel's Arab and other minority populations to tell their stories, and seeks to foster social awareness, cultural understanding, and engagement through curated events and post-screening conversations. The festival will open with a screening of Tzahi Grad's feature comedy "The Cousin," and the closing film will be the US premiere of Iris Zaki's "Unsettling." The Saturday Night spotlight film will be a special presentation of "Working Woman" by Michal Aviad.

"We're proud to bring another year of excellent, thought-provoking films to our festival, and look forward to the conversations they will inspire about Israeli and Palestinian societies," said Isaac Zablocki, director of the Other Israel Film Festival. "The goal of this festival is to engage American audiences through moving films that highlight the minority populations of Israel and spark challenging discussions that lead to action."

In addition to the screenings, participants will have the opportunity to enjoy Q&A sessions with filmmakers and actors, attend parties and special events, and partake in fascinating discussions throughout the week on topical matters including the controversial nation-state law recently passed in Israel.

"We dream that Israel's Jewish and Arab populations will come to know each other and live in harmony," said Carole Zabar, founder of the Other Israel Film Festival. "Our hope is that these films will inspire introspection that leads to meaningful discussions and steps toward peace in the Middle East."

Festival titles and screening times are as follows:

Feature Films
"The Ancestral Sin" (109 mins.) directed by David Deri
**New York Premiere**
The story of Israel's "development towns" as never told before through testimonials and previously sealed transcripts.
Sunday, November 4, 3 p.m. at NYU
Tuesday, November 6, 6:15 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

"The Cousin" (92 mins.) directed by Tzahi Grad
**Opening Night Screening & Reception**
A comedy about a well-intentioned Arab handyman who is facing baseless accusations and the Israeli family man who believes him.
Thursday, November 1, 7 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

"Death of a Poetess" (80 mins.) directed by Dana Goldberg
**New York Premiere**
Two women meet by chance one night for a critical moment and are bound together inseparably.
Monday, November 5, 8:15 p.m. at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Wednesday, November 7, 6:15 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

"Foreign Land" (74 mins.) directed by Shlomi Eldar
**New York Premiere**
An Arab actor and a Jewish journalist sense social upheaval and search for a place where they can belong.
Monday, November 5, 6:15 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

"In Her Footsteps" (70 mins.) directed by Rana Abu Fraiha
**New York Premiere**
Twenty years ago, Rana's family fled from a Bedouin village to a Jewish town. As her mother nears the end of her life, THE FAMILY discovers the meaning of belonging.
Saturday, November 3, 8 p.m. at JCC Harlem
Wednesday, November 7, 8:30 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

"Looking for Zion" (95 mins.) directed by Tamara Erde
**United States Premiere**
Director Tamara Erde embarks on a journey through the photographs of her grandfather, a Zionist photographer from the 1930s.
Monday, November 5, 8:30 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

"Megiddo" (90 mins.) directed by Itzik Lerner
**New York Premiere**
A look into the Megiddo high-security prison shows the complex relationships between Fatah and Hamas leaders and prison commanders.
Sunday, November 4, 5:30 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

"The Optimists" (54 mins.) directed by Eliezar Yaari; narrated by Mandy Patinkin
**New York Premiere**
A Palestinian chemist decides to move from his Arab village to a Jewish kibbutz in southern Israel, where the American founders vow to "fix the world."
Sunday, November 4, 2 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

"Unsettling" (70 mins.) directed by Iris Zaki
**Closing Night -- United States Premiere**
A filmmaker enters the heart of Tekoa, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, and sits down to talk to the locals.
Tuesday, November 6, 6:30 p.m. at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Thursday, November 8, 7 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

"Working Woman" (93 mins.) directed by Michal Aviad
**Saturday Night Spotlight**
Hardworking, talented, and ambitious, Orna faces increasing sexual harassment at work,which soon affects her entire life.
Saturday, November 3, 7 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

Short Films
Session I
Saturday, November 3, 2 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
Sunday, November 4, 4 p.m. at JCC Harlem

"Be/longing" (33 mins.) directed by Amit Breuer
Amal is a Palestinian citizen of Israel. The complexities of Amal's life offer an intimate look at carrying a mixed identity.

"Freedom Train" (27 mins.) directed by Tawfuk Abu Wael
An Arab woman rides the train to Tel Aviv and shares an encounter with an Israeli soldier, out of time and place.

"In His Place" (24 mins.) directed by Ofir Feldman
Omar visits his parents' house with the baby daughter of his departed Jewish lover, causing tension.

Session II
Saturday, November 3, 5 p.m. at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
Sunday, November 4, 6 p.m. at JCC Harlem

"I Signed the Petition" (10 mins.) directed by Mahdi Fleifel
Immediately after a Palestinian man signs an online petition, he falls into a panic-inducing spiral of self-doubt.

"Tzeva Adom: Color Red" (21 mins.) directed by Michael Horwitz
An Israeli soldier finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and forms an unlikely connection with a Palestinian boy over social media.

"Stranger of the Dunes" (22 mins.) directed by Tamar Baruch
An Eritrean refugee emerges from the desert and wanders into a small rural community in southern Israel, seeing visions of his past along the way.

The Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan is located at 334 Amsterdam Ave. on the Upper West Side; JCC Harlem is located at 318 W. 118th St.; Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is located at 445 Albee Square West in Brooklyn; and New York University's King Juan Carlos Center is located at 53 Washington Square South. For more information, individual tickets, festival passes, and to register for special events, visit otherisrael.org.

Founded in 2007, the Other Israel Film Festival presents high-quality cinema that highlights populations in Israel that are not Jewish. The films take an in-depth look at the intersection of Israeli and Palestinian societies, as well as Israel's other minority populations. Through its films, the Other Israel Film Festival explores themes relating to human stories and social justice challenges for Israel and its neighbors. The festival aims to inspire meaningful conversations and advocacy for a more inclusive Israel. Learn more at otherisrael.org.

Together with its community, the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan creates opportunities for people to connect, grow, and learn within an ever-changing Jewish landscape. Located on 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, the JCC is a vibrant non-profit community center on the Upper West Side. The cornerstone of progressive programming in Manhattan, the JCC serves over 55,000 people annually through 1,200 programs each season that educate, inspire, and transform participants' minds, bodies, and spirits. Since its inception, the JCC has been committed to serving the community by offering programs, classes, and events that reach BEYOND neighborhood boundaries, reaching people at all stages of their lives. Learn more at jccmanhattan.org.

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