Alon Weinstock

A clever and heartfelt mockumentary "introduces" a renowned Yiddish actor who disappeared under criminal circumstances. Left in his wake are debts, rumors, and a mysterious inscription on the door of his home reading "schund." The film's action takes place twenty-five years after the actor's disappearance in an effort to pick up his trail. Along the way, we meet the colorful (real) characters who made up Israel's vibrant Yiddish scene during the country's first decades. This was a period when Yiddish theater thrived even as it drew ire from an Israeli establishment bent on suppressing the threat Yiddish's popularity posed to the primacy of Hebrew culture.

The Loser Takes it All tells the story of Israeli band Ping Pong. Their song "Be happy" (Sameach) was chosen to the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden. The band insists to raise Israeli and Syrian flags on stage in their song as a symbol to the peace Israeli and Syrians are wishing for. Head of the delegation and Israeli broadcast association threaten that the band will not perform.

The fascinating life story of Gila Goldstein, one of the first Israeli transgender women and a Tel Aviv icon turned living legend. Gila was born as Avraham Goldstein in the 50’s in downtown Haifa. A soccer player in Maccabi Haifa in her youth, Gila always knew she was a woman. In her 20’s she moved to Tel Aviv and worked as a prostitute and exotic dancer. In 2003 she was proclaimed the community’s darling for her contribution and continued fight for social justice. The film, shot between 1997 and 2010, describes the world of a woman who is, despite many struggles, still happy, optimistic, and feeling forever young.