Israel Presents 2020, two nights of contemporary Israeli cinema, will be presented at Tikvat Israel Congregation in January as follows:
– “Born in Jerusalem and Still Alive” (2016), Saturday, Jan. 18, 7:45 p.m.
“Born in Jerusalem and Still Alive” is a dark romantic comedy co-directed by David Ofek and Yossi Atia, who also stars in the main role. When he isn’t taking care of his elderly father, Jerusalem native Ronen Matalon offers guided tours of famous terror attack sites along Jaffa Road. During one of his tours, he meets Asia Mulan, and ex-Jerusalemite who moved to Barcelona. When Ronen is struck by her thirst for life, he falls in love with her, and becomes torn between the conflicting forces of life and death.
– “Shooting Life” (2018), Saturday, Jan. 25, 7:45 p.m.
While helping his war-weary students find their own voices, a high school teacher attempts to start a new life in an Israeli town perpetually in danger. Yigal (Mickey Leon), a middle-aged divorcé and unemployed film director from Tel Aviv, accepts a position teaching filmmaking in Sderot, near the Gaza border where air raid sirens and missile attacks are ubiquitous. Though they’re slow to warm to him, he gains his 12th-grade students’ trust by coaxing them to film their own stories of love and loss. With their cameras on themselves, they connect with family members, discovering secrets about their lives. But Yigal’s fervent commitment to honest self-expression leads some kids into conflict with their parents, and puts him at odds with his school principal. Bolstered by a strong ensemble cast of up-and-coming young actors, this engrossing coming-of-age story ponders, from the next generation’s viewpoint, the shattered dreams and future hopes of the Middle East.
Light refreshments and discussion, moderated by Lisa LeBourgeois, cultural affairs officer at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C., will follow each film.
Admission for each film: $15 per person for TI members, $18 for non-members, $5 for students with a valid ID. Festival package for both films: $25 per person for TI members, $30 for non-members. Fees pay for film screening rights.
If inclement weather forces a postponement, that film will be shown on Saturday, Feb. 1.
More information at or 301-762-7338.
To purchase tickets visit www.tikvatisrael.org/israelpresents2020
