Israeli Cinema Day to honor Chaim Topol

Seventy-five years of Israeli cinema will be celebrated on Israeli Cinema Day on March 22, which will be dedicated to the memory of the beloved Israeli actor, Chaim Topol, who passed away on March 9. 

All Israeli films at theaters around the country, from Eilat to Rosh Pina, will cost only NIS 10 on that day and there will be 39 movies shown as part of this special event. Of these, 14 will be premieres and the rest will be recent films, many of which have won Ophir Awards in Israel, and prizes at festivals around the world. 

“I am excited to celebrate Israeli Cinema Day to mark 75 years of cinematic creation,” Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar said. “During the 75 years of the country’s existence, the Israeli film industry has grown and is flourishing and thriving and winning awards at the world’s most important film festivals. 

“I call on the general public all over the country, in the periphery and in Judea and Samaria, to go to the cinema and enjoy a high-quality, original Israeli creation at a price that everyone can afford.”

Important Israeli films

The Israeli premieres will include Michal Winik’s Valeria is Getting Married, the story of a Ukrainian woman deciding whether to marry an Israeli man, which had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival; Yona Rosenkier’s 35 Downhill, about an alcoholic elderly man and his son who take a trip across Israel by tractor, which won the competition for Israeli feature films at the Jerusalem Film Festival; and Dan Wolman’s Judas, an adaptation of an Amos Oz novel. 

Popular new movies include Ari Folman’s animated film, Where is Anne Frank; Leon Prudovsky’s My Neighbor Adolf; and Moshe Rosenthal’s Karaoke, which stars Sasson Gabay and Rita Shukrun, who both won Ophir Awards last year.