The Embassy of Israel in collaboration with Nepal Film Society (NFS) jointly organized the 10th Israeli Film Festival. A special screening of the movie “Fill the Void” was screened amidst the inaugural on 22 June 2016. Ananda Prasad Pokharel, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had inaugurated the film festival.

“Altogether six Israeli films are scheduled to be shown during the festival. All the films selected are winners of the Israeli Film Academy as well as highly prestigious International Film Awards. These films have been selected keeping in mind the Nepali aspect–filled with human emotions, culture–they portray day to day life of Israelis. Two of the films, ‘Gorkha’s Daughters in Israel’ and ‘Foreign Sister’, are based on the lives of foreign work migrants in Israel. The entrance for the films is made free and anyone interested in Israeli films and culture is welcome to come and enjoy the films,” said  a press release issued by Embassy of Israel.

 “The Embassy of Israel has been bringing selected Israeli movies to the Nepali audience each year and we hope that through this, we are able to expose a wider range of Israeli culture and society aspects. This year, the Embassy has collaborated with Nepal Film Society for the first time. We believe cinematography is a common language and we are happy to work together with the Nepali film lovers,” said Yaron Mayer, Israeli ambassador to Nepal.

“Some of the best films that have been selected this year feature drama, emotions, love, family-relationships, and culture. The film being screened today, ‘Fill the Void’ shows the complexity of religious life and tells the story of an 18-year old girl from an Orthodox Hassidic family. The story revolves around a girl - her joy, future, marriage and most importantly love and family duty and she must choose one from the two.  For the first time, we are screening documentaries, depicting various aspects of life in Israel,” said Ambassador Mayer.

According to ambassador Mayer, in this category we have ‘Gorkha’s Daughters in Israel’ a documentary directed by Nepali director Raju Bhandari, based on the current working status of Nepalese migrant workers in Israel. This movie gives awareness to different issues of caregivers in Israel.  I would like to mention here that this year the governments of Nepal and Israel signed pilot agreement for bringing caregivers from Nepal to Israel. This film gives an insight of the life of the Nepali caregivers in Israel.

“Another documentary on similar theme is ‘Foreign Sister’. It tells a story of Ethiopian migrant workers and their overall relationship with the greater Israeli society. The third one ‘Dolphin Boy’ tells a story of a boy suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and a father’s patience and tender love, a blooming friendship between a boy and a group of dolphins that help him heal. In conclusion I wish to highlight that the Israeli Government gives importance to cinematography as an important tool to express Israeli vivid and open society. People are encouraged to be a part of the film industry and bring out the best of Israeli life and also its challenges through films,” said Ambassador Mayer