Shemi Zarhin’s ‘Bliss’ to be centerpiece at Toronto International Film Festival 

Bliss, the latest movie by Israeli director Shemi Zarhin, will be shown in the prestigious centerpiece spot at the Toronto International Film Festival, it was announced on Tuesday.

The movie, known in Hebrew as Hemda, is the only Israeli movie included in the lineup this year at Toronto, the largest film festival in North America, to be held September 5-15 for its 49th edition. 

Bliss tells the story of a couple, played by Sasson Gabay and Assi Levy, who struggle to make ends meet and live in northern Israel. They support the husband’s troubled son and grandson from his previous marriage and confront a troubling figure from the wife’s past. The film festival’s program notes call it an “insightful, observational drama.” Gabay and Levy are nominated for Ophir Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress.

The movie was filmed before the Israel-Hamas war began, in an area of Israel that has been the target of thousands of missile attacks by Hezbollah in the past 10 months and touches on the relationships between Jewish and Arab Israelis in that area. 

Zarhin’s previous movies include Aviva, My Love and Bonjour, Monsieur Shlomi. He also has a successful career as a novelist. In a statement, Zarhin said, “I am very excited to participate again in this great festival with Bliss, precisely at this time when major and important film festivals are turning their backs on Israeli films. 

“I hope that the film will melt the hearts of the audience there, as it has already done to the directors of the festival program who decided to accept it. This is a great compliment to Bliss and all the actors and creators who stand behind it.”

Other Israeli successes

His 2015 film, The Kind Words, was also shown at Toronto. A few years ago, Toronto would usually feature four or five Israeli films, but the number has been steadily dwindling in recent years. There was concern in the local movie community that no Israeli films would take part this year, so the inclusion of Bliss, and its placement as the festival’s centerpiece, is good news for Israeli film lovers.  

Only a few Israeli films have been shown abroad this year at festivals that were not devoted to Jewish or Israeli content, notably Omer Tobi’s Tropicana at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic and Tom Nesher’s Come Closer at the Tribeca Festival in New York. Come Closer won the Viewpoints Award and will be released in the fall in Israel.