SERET International 2016

SERET International – the Israeli Film & TV Festival, has announced the dates for the 2016 UK Festival. Now in its fifth year, the festival will be held in cinemas and cultural centres in London, Redbridge, Manchester and Leeds.

The Festival’s opening Gala will be on June 19th at Bafta, Piccadilly, London, with UK premiere of ‘The Kind Words’ a multi-award-winning film, directed by Shemi Zarhin, creator of some of Israel’s most successful, awarded and acclaimed films in recent years. This comedy drama stars four of Israel’s most internationally-renowned actors – Rotem Zissman-Cohen (Hill Start), Roy Assaf, Asaf Ben-Shimon, and Tsahi Halevi (Bethlehem).

The Kind Words
London screenings will take place at Bafta, Soho Hotel, Everyman Maida Vale, Swiss Cottage Odeon, JW3, Phoenix East Finchley, and the Ham Yard Hotel. The programme includes over 20 top films and gives a glimpse of the world-leading, innovative dynamic and passionate film and TV industry in Israel. “It’s an industry that has become more outward-looking, creating great cinema and TV that reflects themes that resonate however and wherever you live, rather than limiting itself to the conflict which so often colours perception of the country,” say the Co-Founders of the Festival, Odelia Haroush, Anat Koren and Patty Hochmann.
At the heart of many of the films in this year’s programme is the family and its diverse dynamics. From the emotionally-charged search of three siblings for their real father in ‘The Kind Words’, to the complex father/son aspirations in ‘Baba Joon’; the fall-out from a concealed identity in ‘AKA Nadia’; and the search for romantic freedom against the odds in ‘Wedding Doll’, family relationships are explored and revealed.

AKA Nadia
The family theme continues with a warmly moving film for children, ‘Abulele’ where 10 year old Adam meets an ancient, huge, friendly and invisible monster, written and directed by Jonathan Geva in his debut feature.
The controversial ‘Tikkun’, directed by Avishai Sivan, reveals the torment of father and son when an ultra-Orthodox scholar feels overwhelmed by a sudden awakening of his body following a near-death experience. This black and white feature won the Jerusalem International Film Festival Best Film, Best Script and Best Actor awards.
SERET International is also delighted to be showing the work of many new film-makers, a reflection of the support that the Israeli film industry gives to nurturing new talent, including the debut work of newcomers Nitzan Giladi (Wedding Doll); Michal Vinik (Barash); Yuval Delshad (Baba Joon) and Tova Asher (A.K.A. Nadia).

As well as public screenings in cinemas and cultural centres, SERET International will be holding celebratory galas and events to mark the fifth year of SERET International in the UK.
Outside the UK, Amsterdam and Santiago saw their first SERET International Festivals in 2015, and 2016 will see a further expansion as SERET International arrives in Berlin too.
Further information on the Festival and ticket booking facilities will be available from the end of April at www.seret-international.org.