Cinema Sabaya
| Cinema Sabaya | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Michal Herzog hosts the participants in the film Cinema Sabaya, March 2022 | |
| Directed by | Orit Fouks Rotem |
| Produced by | Gal Greenspan, Roy Kurland, Maya Fisher, Orlaine Bodino, Ryan Vialva |
| Starring | Dana Ivgi, Amal Murkus, Marlene Bejali, Ruthie Landau, Haula Haj-Divsi, Joanna Said, Yulia Tagil, Asil Farhat, Orit Samuel, Liora Levy. |
| Music by | Karni Postel |
Production company | Green Productions |
Release date | 2021 |
| Country | Israel |
| Languages | Hebrew, Arabic |
Cinema Sabaya (Hebrew: סינמה סבאיא ) is an Israeli film from 2021, winner of the Best Debut Film Award at the Jerusalem Festival and the Ophir Award for Best Feature Film for 2022. The film will be the Israeli nominee for the Academy Award for Best International Film. The film was directed by Orit Fouks Rotem. The film stars Dana Ivgi, Amal Murkus, Marlene Bejali, Ruthie Landau, Haula Haj-Divsi, Joanna Said, Yulia Tagil, Asil Farhat, Orit Samuel and Liora Levy. The film will be the Israeli nominee for the Academy Award at the 95th Academy Awards.[1] In November 2022 it was picked up by Kino Lorber for North American distribution rights.[2]
Plot
A group of nine Jewish and Arab women, municipal workers who live in Hadera and the Triangle in Israel, takes part in a video workshop hosted by Rona, a young film director, who teaches them how to document their lives. With each raw homemade footage shot by the women and shared with the others, the group dynamic forces them to challenge their views and beliefs as they get to know each other and themselves better. The film has eight parts, as the number of workshop sessions. The plot follows the relationship and the bonds that develop in the course which are accompanied by video clips. The women film and project on the white screen and bring up different and diverse topics concerning their worlds, including independence, relationships, motherhood, sexual vulnerability, fear and power, and among other things share secrets and intimate details from their worlds. The topics raised bring distance and closeness between the workshop participants, since without the course they would not have found themselves together in the same place.
Actresses and Characters
Dana Ivgi - Director and host of the workshop.
Liora Levy - a lonely woman, a sailor who lives on a yacht.
Marlene Bajali - an elderly Arab woman who gives advice to the participants from her life experience.
Yulia Tagil - an Israeli of Russian origin who lives with her daughters and with her mother after her divorce.
Ruthie Landau - a Librarian who is in the second chapter of her life after divorcing an abusive husband.
Orit Samuel - a married woman whose depressive husband is distant from her.
Amal Murkus - a lawyer and social and political activist who dreamed of becoming a singer.
Asil Farhat - a young Palestinian woman who challenges the conservative lifestyle in her environment.
Joanna Said - mother of six, religious woman who wants to get a driver's license but is afraid of her husband's reaction.
Awards and Nominations
Cinema Sabaya won the Best Debut Film Award at the Jerusalem Festival and five Ophir Awards: Ophir Award for Best Feature Film, Ophir Award for Best Director to Orit Fouks Rotem, Ophir Award for Best Supporting Actress awarded to Joanna Said, Ophir Award for Best Costume Design awarded to Reitz Ben Dahan, Ophir Award for Best Casting awarded to Emanuel Meyer. The film won the Weil Bloch Award for 2021. The award was presented by Gal Gadot. The film is nominated to represent Israel in the category of the best foreign film in the Oscar.[3][4][5]
External Links
References List
- ^ Stein, Frankie (2022-11-24). "Orit Fouks Rotem presents 'Cinema Sabaya' as Israel's Academy Awards submission". Film Daily. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
- ^ Steinberg, Jessica (2022-11-02). "Oscar Award Hopeful 'Cinema Sabaya' Picked up for US Release". Atlanta Jewish Times. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ "Cinema Sabaya wins 2022 Ophir Award, to represent Israel at Oscars". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ Dalton2022-11-18T09:22:00+00:00, Ben. "Lebanon, Tunisia titles to spring a surprise? Rounding up the Oscar contenders from Africa and Middle East". Screen. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Festival restores faith in film's capacity to engage with reality". Morning Star. 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2022-11-25.