Haifa Film Festival Opens with Avi Nesher Film, Honors Director

The 42nd Haifa International Film Festival will open on Saturday night with "Our Loves," the latest film from acclaimed Israeli director Avi Nesher. The film, which features a cast of characters grappling with the aftermath of the October 7th attacks, will be screened as the festival kicks off following the Sukkot holiday. Nesher, 74, will also receive a lifetime achievement award from the festival.

The festival's program boasts a lineup of internationally recognized filmmakers, including Japan's Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Hirokazu Kore-eda, France's François Ozon and Olivier Assayas, Russia's Andrey Zvyagintsev, Britain's Danny Boyle, Italy's Nanni Moretti, and Iran's Asghar Farhadi. Spanish directors Javier Ambròs and Javier Calvo, winners of the directing award at Cannes for their film "Black Box," will also be featured, with their movie having previously screened at the Jerusalem Film Festival.

Among the films highlighted are "The Heavens," a psychedelic religious fairy tale by Spanish director Alberto Shamma, filmed in Bolivia. "The Moon is My Father," by Georgian director Giorgi Ovashvili, explores themes of family and nature, with a soundtrack by Israeli composer Yossi Brandesvli. The Turkish film "The Wedding," which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, centers on a family moving into a house believed to bring bad luck.

Other notable screenings include "All of Us Are Here for Bill Evans," a black-and-white debut feature by documentary director Grant Gee about the jazz pianist Bill Evans, and François Ozon's adaptation of Albert Camus' "The Stranger," also shot in black and white. The festival will also present "Close to Me," the third film by Belgian director Lukas Dhont, which explores a tragic romance amidst World War I.