Opening Night: Seven Blessings

Overview

NEARLY SOLD OUT!

JxJ 2024 will open with a screening of Seven Blessings –  the winner of 10 Ophir Awards out of 12 nominations in 2023. Seven Blessings is female director Ayelet Menahemi’s first film in 16 years. Director Shaylee Atary will also be in attendance to receive the JxJ Emerging Filmmaker Award and present a pre-show screening of her award-winning short film Single Light. The award will be presented by the 2023 JxJ Emerging Filmmaker Honoree Jake Paltrow. Join us after the program for an Opening Night celebration.

Lead support provided by the Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation.

This program is proudly supported by the Israel Engagement Fund: A JCC Association of North America Program Accelerator and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.

In partnership with the Embassy of Israel in Washington DC.

Schedule

6:30 PM
Single Light 
Dir. Shaylee Atary | 29 min
Narrative | Israel | 2023 | Hebrew with English subtitles
“Lali is sexually assaulted on a dark road in a Tel Aviv parking lot. Awake, yet unable to move, she stares at a streetlight. The next morning, Lali wakes up to a reality which she refuses to accept. Director Shaylee Atary masterfully juggles her mise-en-scène, her actors, the sound, and unusual cinematography.” – Jerusalem Film Festival 

7:00 PM
Opening night remarks and award presentation. Jake Paltrow awards Shaylee Atary with the Emerging Fimmaker Award and Hedva Goldsmith with the All-Time Distributor Award.

7:15 PM
Seven Blessings
Dir. Ayelet Menahemi | 111 min
Narrative | Israel | 2023 | Hebrew, Moroccan, and French with English subtitles
Seven Blessings swept the Israeli Academy Awards® (The Ophir Awards), taking home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Script, and Best Actress. The film revolves around an eventful Jewish Moroccan family wedding and the traditional blessings that are said for the next seven nights of ceremonies and meals with loved ones. Behind the comedy of errors that ensues, there are secrets, lies, and a painful old wound that forces them to confront the past while wrecking the present, all entwined in this acclaimed story about fury, forgiveness, and food. 

9:00 PM
Opening Night Celebration
Join us after the film to kick off the Festival!

Additional screening of Seven Blessings are available here.

About our Guests

Actress, singer and director Shaylee Atary (Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel) is a graduate of the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio and the Rimon Music School. As an actor she has performed in Israeli TV series such as Zaguri Empire (2015) and Johnny and the Knights of Galilee (2015). NEURIM (2020), her second-year film as a student at the Steve Tisch School of Film & Television, Tel Aviv University, was selected for the Cinéfondation in Cannes, premiered on ARTE TV and screened at numerous festivals. SINGLE LIGHT (2023), her second short film, premiered at Jerusalem FF and hes been select at the San Sebastian IFF 2023.

Jake Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, California in 1975. His narrative fiction films are Young Ones and The Good Night. He co-directed the documentary De Palma with Noah Baumbach. He has directed several television shows including Boardwalk Empire and Halt and Catch Fire. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for The First Ones (a film commissioned by the New York Times Magazine). His films have screened at Sundance, Venice, New York, Karlovy Vary, and several other international film festivals.