Directing
The story of Ohad Naharin, renowned choreographer and artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company, an artistic genius who redefined the language of modern dance.
For the first time in Israel, a group of Arab and Jewish parents decide to establish a conjoint bi-national, bi-lingual school inside an Arab village. The film follows the school's first year and portrays through the personal stories of its characters, how complicated and fragile is the attempt to create an environment of co-existence against the backdrop of the complicated reality around. - Perla Minon
Jonathan Agassi is a superstar in the world of gay porn. He lives the wild life in Berlin and Tel Aviv, where he works in films and live shows and has a second job as an escort. Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll – and all of it in large quantities. But the industry is tough, and behind the confident smile is an insecure boy with an absent father and a very close relationship to his broad-minded mother. The contrast to the superficial success grows and grows, but in the world of porn there is no room for crises. Here, you must deliver the goods, every single time – and every single day. Otherwise you are done. The identity crisis is smouldering, Agassi is floundering and drugs become tempting as an easy way out. But how long can he hold onto himself? Over the course of eight years, and with much mutual trust, the director Tomer Heymann has followed Agassi right up to the culmination of his life's biggest crisis.
Despite the abundance of its directors and cinematographers, it was not much anticipated that one day Israel could become an incredible land of creation for LGBT cinema.
Seventy years after his grandfather escapes from Nazi Germany to Palestine, Israeli documentary director Tomer Heymann returns to the country of his ancestors to present his film "Paper Dolls" at the Berlin International Film Festival, and there meets a man who will change his life. This 48-hour love affair, originating in Berghain Panorama Bar, develops into a significant relationship between Tomer and Andreas Merk, a German dancer.
It Kinda Scares Me is a documentary about a drama coach and the “delinquent” boys he teaches. In their world, bravado is everything and Friday nights are for getting into fights. Tomer Heymann, both filmmaker and drama coach, encourages the boys to create something from their pain and marginalization, while they struggle in rehearsals to preserve their much-prized Israeli machismo. When Tomer announces to the group that he is gay, they are shocked, but his commitment to their play wins the day as they prepare for a performance that will give voice to the lives of disaffected Israeli youth.
Paper Dolls follows the lives of transgender migrant workers from the Philippines who work as health care providers for elderly Orthodox Jewish men and perform as drag queens during their spare time. It also delves into the lives of societal outcasts who search for freedom and acceptance.
Saar is an HIV positive gay man living in London, where he found refuge from the religious kibbutz where he grew up in Israel. Ever since he was diagnosed with HIV, Saar has craved his family's love, while they struggle with fears and prejudices.
Twenty-six years after the iconic “Orna and Ella” restaurant opened in Tel Aviv, having become a celebrated culinary institution, Orna Agmon and Ella Shine decided to close their shared life’s work. During the restaurant’s final week, director Tomer Heymann—who worked there for six years and for whom it was much more than just a workplace—documents the intense dynamics of the last days. Farewells to customers, recipes, and staff spark intimate and once-in-a-lifetime conversations. The film reveals the complex relationship between these two groundbreaking women through a spectrum of powerful emotions: love, dependence, conflicting desires, and fears. It boldly raises questions about self-fulfillment, the cost of freedom, and nostalgia for an era that will never return.
Oren Levi is struggling to find his place in the world. Born in Guatemala and adopted by an Israeli couple as a baby, Oren had a troublesome childhood despite all the love and support of his family. Misdiagnosed with autism and mental illness, put into a psychiatric ward after a suicide attempt, he found it even harder to connect with the world that labelled him as “not normal” in many different ways. One day, armed with a simple video camera, Oren embarks on a journey to meet his biological parents and things begin to change. Tomer Heymann’s film tells a compelling story of a young man coming-of-age and discovering his true self among different landscapes, cultures and languages.
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Sardinia 2017. The starting point for the film is one of the most loved lands in the Mediterranean, using it to enter into the world of cinema. Ten international masters of cinema explain Fiorenzo Serra's images, one of the greatest post-war Italian documentary makers. His masterpiece, "The last punch of Earth", will be analyzed and debated, a film which examined Italian change and European reflection.
Aviv Geffen, the grandson of legendary Moshe Dayan and number one Israeli rock list, is rapidly becoming a mythic figure himself. He was the last person to embrace Rabin before that controversial politician was assassinated. The charismatic, bisexual singer-songwriter has rapidly become the Jim Morrison or Bob Dylan of his country, a voice that represents peace and integrity for a troubled young generation. Concert footage, kinetically edited and brilliantly shot, reveals the depth of feeling that many Israelis have for Aviv: hip, youthful women and men are clearly enamored of his presence. Directed by Tomer Heymann, this feature documentary follows the life of Aviv Geffen, a controversial Israeli singer whose liberal upbringing led him to refuse to serve in the Israeli military. Over the last six years, Geffen has become a spokesperson for the country's youth, and this film chronicles the rise of his career, his family roots, and how he finds the inspiration to write music.
Poignant meditation on family, loss, and the mental maps of homelessness. The film navigates the intimate lives of 5 brothers and their mother, over the course of a decade, through the pains of exile and the joys of family bonding. Exploring the politics of belonging, displacement, and homosexuality, the film examines the hard decisions one Israeli family has to make and the intractable bonds that unite them in the face of complicated life choices.
Love Letters to Cinema is a collection of ten "letters” in the form of short films (4 minutes each), written and directed by ten outstanding Israeli directors. The films and the directors conduct a dialogue, whereas the directors create a short film with their unique voice, bringing to the audience a group of work that reflects on cinema.
