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Agnieszka first burst onto the film world with her debut film, “The Lure”, which screened at many festivals and won the Special Jury Award for Unique Vision and Design at the Sundance Film Festival, and was sold for home distribution by Criterion. The film takes the legend “The Little Mermaid” and places it in 1980’s Poland within the musical genre. The film showcased Agnieszka’s unique cinematic voice, which combines genres (fantasy, horror, musical) into colourful historical stories. She uses these foundations to tell stories about loneliness, identity and passion through a female point of view. With her unique approach to cinema, Agnieszka quickly established herself as one of the most exciting new directors, both in Poland and world cinema.
Agnieszka studied at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice. After the success of “The Lure”, she directed her second film, “Fugue” (2018). Her third and latest film, “The Silent Twins” (2022), premiered at the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2022, and was sold to Universal for worldwide distribution.
Screenings:
The Silent Twins + Q&A | 29.6, 16:30, Cinematheque 4
The Lure | 1.7, 13:00 Cinematheque 1
Masterclass:
Fantasy and Horror as tools of self expression – The Cinema of Agnieszka Smoczynska | 26.6, 16:30 Cinematheque 2
One of the most prominent directors in contemporary German cinema, and a leading director of the “Berliner Schule” wave of arthouse German films, alongside directors such as Angela Schanelec and Thomas Arslan. Petzold’s films stand out for their precise visual language, alongside his complex characters and the emotions he conjures from his stories. His films examine Germany following its reunification, as well as the history of his homeland and the scars and traumas that are present to this day. Some of his films create a dialogue with classic Hollywood cinema, drawing inspiration from them and making them compatible with Petzold’s imagery of Germany. For example, “Phoenix”, which is inspired by Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”, but set in post-WWII Germany.
Petzold studied at Berlin’s DFFB from 1988 until 1994. During his studies, one of his teachers was the artist Harun Farocki, with whom Petzold would go on to co-write many of his films. His first film, “Pilotinen” (1995), his graduation film, was sold to and screened on German television. Five years later, Petzold directed “The State I Am In”, his first theatrical film, and his first collaboration with Farocki. Petzold continued examining the political and personal lives of his characters in his following films, such as “Gespenster” (2005), “Yella” (2007), “Jerichow” (2008), and “Barbara” (2012), for which he received the Silver Bear for Directing at the Berlinale. His latest film, “A Fire”, screened at this year’s Berlinale and won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize.
Screenings:
Israeli Premier: Afire + Q&A | 28.6, 21:00, Cinematheque 3
The State I Am In | 29.6, 14:00, Cinematheque 1
Phoenix | 1.7, 30.6, 19:00, Cinematheque 2
Israeli Premier: Afire | 1.7, 16:00, Cinematheque 3
Masterclass:
The Encounters of Time in the Cinema of Christian Petzold | 27.6, 17:00, Cinematheque 4
Larry Kasanoff is a renowned American producer with extensive experience in the film and television industries. Throughout his four decades in Hollywood, Kasanoff was involved in endless projects, among them feature films, television series, music videos and video games. He is mostly well known for producing and being the major force behind the “Mortal Kombat” film series, which is based on the successful video game series. Kasanoff produced most of the films in the series, starting from the highly successful first film, which was released in 1995. Kasanoff also do-founded Lightstorm Entertainment, together with James Cameron, and produced “Blue Steel” (1990), “True Lies” (1994) and “Strange Days” (1995). Kasanoff has vast experience in other areas of the entertainment industry, and continues to seek new and innovative ways to connect different mediums in order to create new and unique entertainment experiences.
Screenings:
Mortal Kombat | 29.6, 19:45, Cinematheque 4, Q&A
True Lies | 30.6, 19:30, Cinematheque 1, Film.
Masterclass:
The Madness of Movie Making | 28.6, 15:30, Cinematheque 2
Andrew Dominik is one of the most prominent filmmakers of the past three decades. His films focus on famous and historical figures, through whom he explores the nature of success and fame, the loneliness and difficulty that accompany the glamorous life, and the disparity that is created between the public image and the inner life which exists under the mask of fame. For each film, Dominik chooses a different genre, be it a prison film, a Western, a crime film, a live performance or an intimate documentary, but his main concern and the themes he explores remain the same.
Dominik was born in New Zealand and moved to Australia when he was 2-years-old. He caught the attention of Hollywood with his debut film, “Chopper”, about one of Australia’s most feared and well-known prisoners. After his move to Hollywood, Dominik quickly became one of the most prominent, unique and beloved directors in American cinema of the last decades. His second film, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” quickly became one of the most loved films of the 2000’s and was even named by mane as the best modern Western. The film gave its two stars, Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, their best-known and most beloved film roles. Dominik continued his partnership with Pitt for his third film, “Killing Them Softly”, and for his most recent “Blonde” which Pitt produced. Dominik has also made two films about his friend, the musician Nick Cave.
Screenings:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford | 26.6, 14:30 Cinematheque 1, 35mm print
Blonde | 27.6, 12:00, Cinematheque 2
One More Time With Feeling | 30.6, 19:00, Cinematheque 4
Masterclass:
The Price of Fame: The Films of Andrew Dominik | 1.7 , 14:30, Cinematheque 2
Jacob Secher Schulsinger established himself when he edited Ruben Ostlund’s “Play”, which started their longtime collaboration, including working together on the Palme d’Or winning film “The Square”. In addition to Ostlund, Schulsinger has worked with Lars Von-Trier (“Nymphomaniac”, “The House That Jack Built” and the 3rd season of “The Kingdom”), Amat Escalante (“The Uninvited”) and Andrea Arnold (2nd season of “Big Little Lies” and the documentary “Cow”). Schulsinger also has vast experience editing music videos and commercials.
Screenings:
Force Majeure, 25.6, 13:00, Cinematheque 2
Cow | 1.7, 12:00, Cinematheque 2 + Q&A
Masterclass:
The Moment of Truth: On the Art of Editing with Jacob Schulsinger | 30.6, 15:00, Cinematheque 2
One of the most unique cinematographers in the world, whose singular eye for photography led him to shoot a wide variety of films around the world, moving between foreign art-house and American Indies. Originally from Mexico, Garcia has worked with famous directors from all around the world – Apichatpong Weerasethakul (“Cemetery of Splendor”, 2015), Carlos Reygadas (“Our Time”, 2018), Yorgos Lanthimos (“Nimic”, 2019), Sergei Loznitsa (“Victory Day”, 2018), and Paul Dano (“Wildlife”, 2018). Garcia has also worked on different auteur TV series, such as Michael Mann’s “Tokyo Vice” (2022), and Nicholas Winding-Refn’s “Too Old to Die Young” (2019). His most recent film, “Causeway” (2022), which was produced by and starred Jenifer Lawrence, received an Academy Award Nomination for Bryan Tyree Henry for Best Supporting Actor. In addition to his work in film and TV, Garcia is a highly regarded commercial cinematographer, with many credits to his name.
Screenings:
Cemetery of Splendor | 25.6, 16:00, Cinematheque 1
Causeway | 27.6, 14:30, Cinematheque 1
Wildlife | 30.6, 12:00, Cinematheque 2 + Q&A
Masterclass:
Between Art-house and Indie – Conversation with Cinematographer Diego Garcia | 29.6, 16:00, Cinematheque 2
Jessica Hausner is one of the three leading directors of Austrian cinema, and one of the mainstays of the Cannes Festival. Hausner’s films are characterised by her unique style, which explore her themes through a minimalistic film language, enigmatic narratives, and complex female characters. She places her stories in different genres: horror (“Hotel”, 2004), transcendental (“Lourdes”, 2009), and science fiction (“Little Joe”, 2019). The exact cinematography of her longtime DoP Martin Gschlacht and the unnerving sound editing all contribute to the mysterious atmosphere that envelops the strange cinematic worlds in Hausner’s films.
Hausner, the daughter of painter Rudolph Hausner and sister of the artist Zenia Hausner, studied directing at the Film Academy of Vienna. There she made the award- winning short films “Flora” (1996) which screened at the 6th Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival. Her graduation film, “Inter-View” (1999) was selected for the Cinefondation and started her long relationship with the Cannes Film Festival. There, she screened almost all her following films: her debut feature film, “Lovely Rita” (2001), “Hotel”, “Amour Fou” (2014), and “Little Joe”. Hausner’s latest film, “Club Zero” (2023) was shot in the UK and Austria, and features Mia Wasikowska as a charismatic but eerie teacher in an international boarding school. The film was selected for the Official Competition at this year’s Cannes Festival.
Screenings:
Hotel | 26.6, 21:00, 83 min., Cinematheque 1, 35mm
Club Zero: Israeli Premiere + Q&A | 27.6, 19:00, Cinematheque 4
Little Joe | 30.6, 16:00, Cinematheque 4
Flora | 1.7, 13:30, TISFF Treasures, Cinematheque 1
Masterclass:
The Mysterious Cinema of Jessica Hausner | 28.6, 18:00, Cinematheque 2