This year, the 14th Arava International Film Festival, which will run November 12-22, offers Israeli premieres of several distinctive films, which will be especially fun to watch under the star-filled desert sky.
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, directed by Diego Céspedes, is a debut film set in a mining town in northern Chile in 1982. An 11-year-old girl, Lidia, lives with her chosen queer family, as a mysterious epidemic begins to spread. Céspedes weaves together striking desert imagery and themes of identity and resilience.
<strong>From France to Japan: stories that transcend borders</strong><br>
Summer Beats, from French directors Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret, tells the story of two 19-year-olds, Shaï and Djeneba, who leave their housing project in Paris to work as camp counselors in the south of France. What begins as a lighthearted story of friendship and freedom deepens into a look at class divisions and the power of friendship.
The filmmakers, who won acclaim for The Worst Ones, tell another moving story about girls on the cusp of adulthood.
From Japan comes Kokuho, directed by Lee Sang-il, an epic immersion in the world of Kabuki theater. The film follows a young man from a yakuza background as he struggles to master the ancient art form and find his own place within its rigid hierarchy.
The lineup also includes Made in EU, a powerful social drama by Bulgarian filmmaker Stephan Komandarev, who made Blaga’s Lessons.
Set during the COVID pandemic in a small industrial town, Made in EU follows a factory worker unjustly blamed for a collapse she couldn’t prevent.
Another buzzed-about film, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, is getting heavy Oscar buzz. This story of a dysfunctional Norwegian theatrical family is predicted to be nominated for Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Actress for Renate Reinsve, Best Supporting Actress for Elle Fanning, and Best Director for Trier.
The Secret Agent, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, has won acclaim all over the world for its gripping story of a Brazilian technology expert who flees from the city to his hometown, Recife, when he runs afoul of the regime in the 1970s.
Hafsi Herzi’s The Little Sister tells an intriguing story of a Muslim teenage girl in Paris who realizes that she is a lesbian and isn’t sure how to cope.
The festival was founded by film producer Eyal Shirai in partnership with the Central Arava Regional Council. The event is supported by the Central Arava Regional Council, the Israeli Film Council of the Culture and Sport Ministry, the Development of the Negev and Galilee Ministry, the Tourism Ministry, the Regional Cooperation Ministry, and the Mifal Hapayis national lottery.
For more information, go to the festival website at aravaff.co.il/en