New Israel Fund is sponsoring a Major Retrospective of Short Films from the Sam Speigel School of Film and Television

Sunday 6th November, 2.40pm, Screen on the Hill

Each year the UK Jewish Film Festival brings us an exciting selection of Jewish-themed movies from all over the world. This year, New Israel Fund is delighted to be partnering with the festival and sponsoring the screening of a Major Retrospective of Short Films from the Sam Spiegel School of Film and Television. A superbly eclectic programme of short films from students of this world-renowned film school which encompass a wide range of life in Israel from the domestic to the political viewpoints of the students.

The films will be introduced by the founder and director of the Sam Spiegel School, Renen Schorr - a key figure on the Israeli film scene today.

Please join us at this screening on Sunday 6th November, 2.40pm, Screen on the Hill.

To book tickets e-mail Idit Lewis at idit@uknif.org or call 0207 724 2266. For more information visit www.newisraelfund.org.uk

Guest of Honour – Renen Schorr

Renen Schorr, a key figure on the Israeli film scene today, founded the Sam Spiegel School of Film and Television in 1989 and has served as its director ever since. A critically acclaimed director/producer/screenwriter, Schorr is a founder of the Israeli Fund for Quality Films (1978) and the initiator of the New Fund for Documentary Films (1994). He served as President of GEECT, the European association of 70 European film schools, from 2000-2004.

Schorr's full-length feature, “Late Summer Blues” (1987), won the Israeli Oscar for the Best Film. The film was screened at 25 international film festivals, distributed commercially in the United States, and broadcast on television channels all over the world.

A Major Retrospective of Short Films from the Sam Spiegel School of Film and Television, Jerusalem, Israel, 120 mins.

Nothing is sacred and we are treated to stories of paternal relationships, Arab and Jewish life in the Old City of Jerusalem and the frankly bizarre tale of a zany waitress in a seriously weird cafe. Relax and enjoy this varied selection of six short films ranging from 1997 to 2004.

Personal Goals
Dir. Ran Carmeli, Israel, 1996, 16 mins.
First prize Montevideo, Uraguay.
Danny Tranto will do anything to make Yaron, his nine year old son, a famous soccer player. Yaron, however, has other ideas.

Cock Fight
Dir. Sigalit Liphshitz, Israel, 2000, 13 mins.
First prize - Montpelier Film Festival
On a hot summer day, Marziano is driving his chickens to the market. Upon arriving at a Palestinian road block, he is brought to a halt.

Bedouin Sand
Dir. Omri Levy, Israel, 1997, lsrael, 17 mins.
Golden Plaquie Award, Chicago Film festival
Nine year old Roy falls in love with a bottle of colured sand that a bedouin tries to sell him in the desert.

Sea Horses
Dir. Nir Bergman, 1998, Israel, 17 mins.
First Prize Lodz, Poland
Ten year old Noam has a teenage sister, a younger sister and parents who have decided on a trial separation.

Sliding Flora
Dir. Talya Lavie,Israel, 2003, 12 mins.
Special mention - Melbourne Film Festival
Flora is a waitress in a coffee shop that requires complex acrobatic skills that are complicated and challenging. Although Flora finds her job at the cafe too demanding she has not lost her dramatic talent.

The Red Toy
Dir. Dani Rosenberg, Israel, 12 mins.
Best Short Film – Busan Asian Film Festival, Korea 2005
Mohamad, a Palestinian child from the old city of Jerusalem, finds a red toy and misplaces it. The toy is passed around the alleys of the city, handed from one person to another, while the police surveillance cameras are watching from above.