March 2, 2011

For the second year in a row we are happy to support the Israeli Film Festival.  On Saturday, March 5th at 8 PM in Bossone's Mitchell Auditorium, we will screen Gei Oni (Valley of Fortitude), a film directed by Dan Wolman, who will also participate in a talk back with the audience and a reception afterwards. Gei One is based on the classic novel by Shulamit Lapid, and tells a visually arresting saga of a painful love story set against the historical rebuilding of Israel.  Fania and her baby daughter, uncle and brother escape the pogroms of late 19th century Russia and become part of the first wave of immigrants to Palestine. Penniless, Fania reluctantly agrees to marry the dashing and despondent Yechiel, a widower with two young children. She follows him to a hard pioneer life of struggle in his village near Safed. The film is presented in Hebrew, Yiddish, Arabic, Russian, Turkish and Romanian with English subtitles.  For more information please click here.

We have a limited number of free tickets that students can pick up in the Cinema & Television department office (University Crossings Basement) through Friday, March 4th.  The Israeli Film Festival of Philadelphia is a celebration of Israeli culture, with the aim of enriching the American vision of Israeli culture and society through film. Each season, a slate of feature films and documentaries are selected to provide a diverse reflection of Israel.  The festival runs through April 9th with films and talkbacks happening throughout our region.