THE BIENNIAL film festival Chaverim Chaverim, which moves between Slovakia and Israel, will introduce the latest in Israeli cinema to Slovak viewers at Bratislava's Tatra cinema on the evenings of April 30 and May 1.
"[The project] presents the highest quality and the most interesting selection of both national cinemas and offers new perspectives on culture in the two different worlds," says its organiser, Alexandra Popovičová. The film work by professionals and students is also accompanied by other cultural activities, such as exhibitions and concerts.
WHAT's so scary?photo: Courtesy of Chaverim Chaverim
Its fourth year will bring three feature movies, three documentary films, and a selection of the most recent films made by the students of The Sam Spiegel Film and TV School and the Ma'ale School of Television, Film, and the Arts in Jerusalem. The students of the latter school drew the themes for their films from traditional Jewish life and are participating in the festival for the first time. DJ Almog will mix the hits of Tel Aviv's club scene at the end of the festival.
The movies will be screened in their original language, Hebrew, with English subtitles and simultaneous Slovak translation via headphones.
All films but one, the documentary It Kinda Scares Me, were made in the last two years. Since premiering in 2001, the film has received many awards, especially at festivals focusing on gay and lesbian themes. It tells the story of a group of adolescents, whose lives changed a great deal during the several years spent making the film.
The film James' Journey to Jerusalem will open the festival on Friday, April 30, at 19:00. Two hours later, the Sabbath Film Night will follow with screenings of the films Wisdom of the Pretzel and It Kinda Scares Me, followed by films made by the students of the two Jerusalem school. A selection of these student films will also be screened that morning, starting at 9:30.
The next day, May 1, will start with the documentary Number 17 is Anonymous at 17:00. The film is a search to identify the final victim of the suicidal terrorist attack committed in a bus going from Tel Aviv to Tiberia in June 2002.
DJ Almog, along with other European DJs, will hold the Warm-up party at Spojka Club on Prešnerova Street near the Slovak National Museum from 22:00.
For more information visit www.chaverimchaverim.sk.
