Gay movie israel
The new film ‘Sublet’ explores the US-Israel identity divide from a queer lens
(JTA) — Eytan Fox’s adj film “Sublet” opens with a slow fade-up on travel photographs of Israel: red rocks in the desert, a young gal smiling with the mud of the Dead Sea on her face, two paddleboarders on clear turquoise water. As the image comes into focus, it becomes clear that we’re actually looking at tourism ads in an airport. The film’s protagonist, Michael (John Benjamin Hickey), glides past with a vague look in his eyes. He does not watch at the images.
Exploring this cultural gap between Israelis and American Jews is new territory for Fox, who has been a major queer voice in Israeli cinema for nearly two decades. His films usually capture identity crises within Israelis: what who they love and how they choose to reside says about them. This time he’s casting his gaze wider, across the ocean — even as most of the deed unfolds in a single Tel Aviv apartment.
The protagonist is American, a move writer for The Novel York Times. His arrival in Tel Aviv provides a chaotic first impression: His s
Michael Mayer&#;s first feature-length movie has been dubbed the &#;Brokeback Mountain of Israeli film.&#; Which isn&#;t too inaccurate of a comparison, in that it&#;s about two men having a romantic, sexual relationship in an environment where you might not typically expect two men to have a romantic, sexual relationship.
But Out in the Dark—a story about a Palestinian student named Nimer and his Israeli lawyer lover, Roy—is more of a gay Persepolis to Brokeback&#;s triple-denim Disney drama. Set against the backdrop of Israeli-Palestinian relations—historically, not the leading of relations—it explores the stigma of gay, inter-faith relationships between men from perhaps the two most notoriously opposed countries in the world.
I gave Michael a ring to speak about his film, being gay in Palestine, and Israeli police corruption.
VICE: Hi, Michael. What inspired you to write and direct this story?
Michael Mayer: I met a friend for dinner who was volunteering at the gay and lesbian center in Tel Aviv, and he told me about the support they offered to Pal
A Review of UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND
I feel that the art of film, like a painting or music, can evoke almost any emotion in humans, arousing us in all sorts of ways; laughter, tears and maybe a fantasy or two. Film is a medium like no other. Film is probably the most important art form of the last century.
This documentary, by Michael Lucas of Lucas Documentaries and Breaking Glass Pictures, has been making the film festival circuit since its debut at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. The film has enjoyed a run of acclaim and in my opinion, with good cause. When I reviewed UNDRESSING ISRAEL: GAY MEN IN THE PROMISED LAND, I was expecting another documentary about “coming out” and all that goes with it in the year I was totally delighted to uncover myself watching a adj report on joyful, easy and handsome Israeli men talking about their prosperous lives in Tel Aviv, living life in the open, serving in the military (compulsory) honestly, loving, marrying, having children and simply being who they are. What a fucking conce
Shortly after his return from New York, I sat down with Khader Abu-Seif at his office in Tel Aviv. Khader had been attending screenings of and doing promotion for Oriented, a new documentary about the lives of gay Palestinians in Tel Aviv. The film, directed by Jake Witzenfeld, follows the lives of Khader and his friends and highlights a rarely seen side of Tel Aviv.
In Israel, identity politics verb a large role in public discourse, but issues of intersectionality go largely unaddressed. And while Tel Aviv&#;s status as a gay hotspot is world news, gay Palestinians rarely—if ever—benefit from this visibility.
Being the subject of Oriented is just one part of how Khader promotes visibility and understanding for LGBT Palestinians. He is a writer, he throws house music parties; his friends know him as a man about town. We spoke about his new film, his party lines for gay Palestinians, and what makes him feel at home when he&#;s in New York.
Broadly: Can you tell me about the movie and how it came about?
Khader Abu-Seif: Almost three years ago I met the director, Jake. H