December 28, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lisa Kleinman

(347) 806-9134
lisakkleinman@gmail.com
TWELFTH ANNUAL BROOKLYN ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS
THE BEST OF ISRAELI CINEMA
(Brooklyn, NY) On January 21, 23 and 24, the Brooklyn Israel Film Festival at Kane Street
Synagogue marks its 12th year presenting the best of new Israeli cinema. The Festival again features
three nights of thought-provoking films. The 2016 films reveal diverse facets of Israeli life, examining
prejudice and identity through a personal lens (Thursday), exploring Israels history through the life
one of its greatest statesmen (Saturday), and surveying the wide array of food traditions that make
Israeli society so rich (Sunday).

The 2016 festival kicks off on Thursday, January 21 at 8pm with A Borrowed Identity, a
coming-of-age drama about a gifted Arab teenager struggling to fit into Israeli society. From a
boisterous childhood in the bosom of a loving family in the Israeli Arab town of Tira, Eyad
struggles to fit in when he is chosen to attend an elite, all-Jewish boarding school in Jerusalem.
There, a romance with beautiful Naomi and friendship with handicapped Jonathan lead to lifechanging questions. Opening night reception sponsored by Pride Caterers at 7:15.

On Saturday, January 23 at 8pm, the festival continues with Rabin In His Own Words, an
intimate and moving documentary told in Yitzchak Rabins own voice. Part bio-pic and part
autobiography, through rare archival footage, home movies and private letters, the film reveals
the evolution of a visionary statesman as his life unfolds in the light of Israeli history. Best
Documentary, Haifa International Film Festival, 2015.

The twelfth annual Brooklyn Israel Film Festival concludes on Sunday, January 24 at 7pm
with In Search of Israeli Cuisine, a documentary exploring the rich, ethnic and cultural
diversity of the new Israeli food scene. Guided by Michael Solomonov, American-Israeli chef
of Philadelphias Zahav restaurant, we visit chefs, home cooks, farmers, street-food vendors,
vintners, cheese makers, orchards and landscapes for a mouth-watering portrait of the Israeli
people through food. Director Roger Sherman will be on hand for post-film Q and A.

Tickets are $18 for opening night, $15 each for Saturday and Sunday evenings, and $36 for the
full series of three films. Online ticketing is now open; tickets can also be purchased at the door.
For more information about the festival, go to kanestreet.org/biff2016 or
facebook.com/brooklynIFF

Kane Street Synagogue is located at 236 Kane Street between Court and Clinton Streets in
Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Subway: F to Bergen Street Station or 2, 3, 4, 5, N or R to Borough Hall
Station.

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TWELFTH ANNIVERSARY BROOKLYN ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL DESCRIPTIONS
Thursday, January 21 at 8:00PM
A Borrowed Identity
Dramatic Feature Film Directed by Eran Riklis
(Israel, 2014, 105 minutes, Color, Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles)
Immensely intelligent, Eyad is likeable and sensitive a model Israeli Arab citizen, son, student,
boyfriend and friend. Despite this, his experience of budding friendship, sexual desire, intellectual
curiosity, finding a job, and establishing a life is undermined by crippling racial prejudice.
Scripted by the acclaimed Arab-Israeli writer Sayed Kashua based on his autobiographical
novels, the film portrays a world where an ingrained us-versus-them mentality can trump basic
human decency.
Opening-night reception at 7:15.
Awards:

Official Selection, Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland, 2014

Official Selection, Telluride Film Festival, USA, 2014
Official Selection, San Francisco International Film Festival, USA, 2015
Official Selection, Toronto Jewish Film Festival, Canada, 2015

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmc10hj4ffU

Saturday, January 24 at 8:00PM

Rabin In His Own Words
Dramatic Feature Film Directed and Edited by Erez Laufer
(Israel, 2015, 113 minutes, Color and Black & White, Hebrew with English subtitles)
Rabins multiple perspectivesfrom his youth as a labor leaders son, agricultural school student
and elite Palmach fighter to his adulthood as IDF commander, diplomat, opposition leader and
Prime Ministerled him to believe that ceding the West Bank to the Palestinians was the only
way to preserve Israel as a democratic Jewish state. Twenty years after his assassination, this film
inspires a timely reflection on Rabins legacy and the tragic events that have unfolded since his
death.

Awards:

Winner, Best Documentary, Haifa International Film Festival, Israel, 2015

A captivating outlook on the State of Israel through the eyes of a leader, who dreamed, worked
and sacrificed for peace, and the tragedy that ended both his life and that hope Jury
Statement
-more12th Annual Brooklyn Israel Film Festival Page 2

Sunday, January 25 at 7:00PM

In Search of Israeli Cuisine
Documentary Film Directed by Roger Sherman
(Israel, 2016, 97 minutes, Color, mostly English, some Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles)
The last 35 years have fostered a multi-cultural food revolution that has changed Israeli cuisine.
As the economy improved, a colorful and sophisticated bounty of foods, flavors, herbs and spices
has evolved around Israels abundant natural resources, ideal growing conditions, advanced hightech agronomy and the best vegetables on the planet. This film takes us on a journey of the
worlds hottest emerging culinary scene where 70 Jewish cultures plus local Arab, Muslim,
Christian and Druze food traditions make Israel the ultimate melting pot.
Brooklyn Israel Film Festival viewers have an exclusive opportunity to see this film prior to its
official premiere. In Search of Israeli Cuisine is scheduled for release in early 2016.
Director Roger Sherman will lead a post-film Q and A.
Trailer : http://israelicuisinefilm.com/

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