2024 JEWISH FILM SERIES
All films will be shown live in the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center at 7:30 PM. They will not be streamed.
Admission is free for Summer Institute Sponsors and Hebrew Center members and $10 for the general public. No advance reservations are required.
JULY 14 - SEVEN BLESSINGS
In early 1990s Jerusalem, a boisterous Moroccan-Jewish-Israeli clan reunites for a cross-cultural wedding, celebrating the Moroccan-Jewish bride and French-Ashkenazi groom over the course of seven nights of dinners and ceremonies. The week-long ritual of sheva brachot (seven blessings) occasions joy, laughter, dancing, and delicious food. But behind the joie de vivre and togetherness are difficult family secrets. With humor, pathos, and confidence, Seven Blessings puts Mizrahi mothers, daughters, and sisters at the beating heart of this rich enveloping story.
Directed by Ayelet Menahemi, Seven Blessings was written by Reymonde Amsallem and Eleanor Sela, who co-star as sisters in the film. Cousins in real life, Sela and Amsallem were inspired by their own family as well as interviews with Moroccan-Jewish women. Seven Blessings became a cultural watershed upon its theatrical release this winter.
- 2023 WINNER, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, Best Casting, Best Soundtrack, Israeli Academy Awards
- Seven Blessings was Israel’s submission to the Oscars for Best International Film.
JULY 28 - HOME
In this explosive true-crime drama, a newly married young man's ambition to open a computer store in his ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood begets a shocking clash of tradition versus modernity. Devout yeshiva student Yair (Roy Nik) tries to support his family with a new business, introducing outside technology into the cloistered community. Despite efforts to adhere to strict Haredi rules, he faces vehement opposition from the locals, leading to rising tensions, the threat of violence, and marital strain, culminating in a decisive showdown. Nominated for 9 Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Film, writer-director Benny Fredman's intense portrayal, based on personal experiences, offers a troubling yet potent commentary on the intersection of free will and religious dogmatism.
- 2023 WINNER, Best Actor Israeli Academy Awards
- 2023 WINNER, Best Supporting Actor Israeli Academy Awards
- 2024 WINNER, Best Narrative Feature Boca International Jewish Film Festival
AUGUST 11 - THE FUTURE
At 42 Dr. Nurit Bloch, a profiler, wants a child - that is for her “the future” - and her only way is to find a surrogate mother. At the same time, her groundbreaking algorithm designed to identify individuals planning to carry out terror attacks fails to work and a young Palestinian woman assassinates the Israeli minister of Space and Tourism. In order to ‘fix the bugs’ in her algorithm, Nurit faces the assassin in person. The sessions between these two brilliant women raise questions about their past, while the sessions between Bloch and the potential surrogate challenge Bloch’s decision about her future.
- 2023 NOMINEE FOR BEST ACTRESS, Israeli Film Academy : Raymonde Amsallem
- 2023 NOMINEE FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, Israeli Film Academy : Samar Qupty
- 2023 NOMINEE FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, Israeli Film Academy Shark de Mayo