Close
Monthly Screenings

ReFILM: Restored, Revisited, Rediscovered 2019

For more than a century, cinema relied on raw physical material, the film, the same long celluloid stripes on which the picture and the soundtrack were embedded. As film is a physical and perishable material - many movies have been inaccessible. The surviving copies were of poor quality: scratched, faded, and sometimes fragmented.

But in the last decade cinema has been undergoing a revolution. Film is replaced with a new material, the digital file. As part of the momentum of this revolution, thousands of old films are being poured into this new format. Copies of the negative - the source - in which the films were created, are taken from archives around the world. These copies are scanned into the digital format, corrected and cleaned, matched, and re-packaged into new projection format. This revolution is taking place now, too, at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. The Israel Film Archive has been equipped with a digital lab and is in the midst of a tremendous project to transform the entire Israeli cinema collection into this new format, for its preservation and accessibility.

These moves are taking place all over the world, and the festival we will be presenting at the end of June comes to celebrate these new possibilities. This is an opportunity to meet with films from all over the world - masterpieces that can finally be screened in the best quality possible, new prints created on the basis of old archive films, and rare films that suddenly receive attention and expose new and longstanding artists.

Cinema is a young art, but in its 120 years many pearls have remained hidden: some familiar, others less so, but that are nonetheless interesting to encounter. We invite you to join us on a fun and surprising journey to these treasures, some rediscovered, some revisited, with new digital quality.

Prior to the screening, a discussion (in Heb.) with Michal Bat Adam, Yoav Kosh, and Meir Russo. Moderated by: Benjamin Freidenberg

The House on Chelouche st.

Dir.: Moshe Mizrahi
| 110 minutes

At the end of the British Mandate period in Palestine, 14-year-old Sammy and his widowed mother live in the Shabazi neighborhood in Tel Aviv. Sammy is torn between his mother’s stifling love and his growing independence. 

Kind Hearts and Coronets

Dir.: Robert Hamer
| 106 minutes

A distant relative of the Duke of D’Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession; all played the genius Alec Guinness. Considered as one of the greatest comedies ever made.

Voyage to the End of the World

Dir.: Jindrich Polik
| 81 minutes

The 22nd century. Starship Ikarie is making its way to Alpha Centauri with 40 people on board. On their odyssey they will encounter external and internal obstacles that will force them to reexamine their journey. A true cinematic treasure, an intelligent and surprising work of science fiction.

Silence Is Golden

Dir.: Rene Clair
| 107 minutes

In 1910, in the little picturesque world of film studios, a young girl fresh from the province, seduces the director of Fortuna productions and Jacques, his adopted son, who works there too as an all-purpose man. 

Mad Fox

Dir.: Tomu Uchida
| 109 minutes

After a series of intrigues in the emperor’s court, our hero’s lover finds her death. He leaves the courtyard, but he keeps meeting his beloved. A glorious work that leaves the viewer with a constant sense of curiosity and astonishment.

The Killing

Dir.: Stanley Kubrick
| 84 minutes

A daring race-track robbery is the plot for Stanley Kubrick’s third feature. Kubrick, thanks to a script that flexibly moves on the timeline, with well-formed characters, a witty dialogue, and virtuoso camera movements, turns this plot into a thriller that is sophisticated, clever and enjoyable. 

Dial M for Murder 3D

Dir.: Alfred Hitchcock
| 105 minutes

An aging tennis star arranges the murder of his wife for her inheritance, but his complex plans go awry. The film’s suspense is established through purely cinematic means.

Some Like It Hot

Dir.: Billy Wilder
| 126 minutes

After witnessing the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, two musicians flee Chicago, posing as members of an all-girl band. Mayhem ensues as both fall for Sugar Cane and try to keep their true identities hidden. One of the best and most loved comedies of all time.

The Third Man

Dir.: Carol Reed
| 104 minutes

The classical adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel about the mysterious disappearance of the writer Harry Lime in post-WWII Vienna. This suspenseful plot set on the background of the opening moments of the Cold War is the ground for this masterpiece for the ages. 

ABBA: The Movie

Dir.: Lasse Hallstrom
| 95 minutes

An uptight radio reporter is sent to track down ABBA, while they are touring Australia. Considered by many as ABBA’s A Hard Day’s Night, the film, featuring ABBA’s most loved songs, is a time capsule of music and color that is a treat for the eyes, ears, and mind. 

Galit Roichman (in Heb.) on the great comedian Buster Keaton

Steamboat Bill JR.

Dir.: Charles F. Reisner
| 64 minutes

The son of a proud riverboat captain falls short of his father's expectations. This work is considered one of Buster Keaton’s best films, where he shows off all of his amazing comedic skills. 

Todo Modo

Dir.: Elio Petri
| 132 minutes

While a plague is raging outside, Italy’s leaders are in a bunker in a kind of spiritual retreat. They are supposed to contemplate their corruption, but they are plotting how to remain in power. And then the mysterious murders begin.... A satire about spirituality and political corruption. 

An in-depth analysis of the digital techniques used in the making of the film

What does the super-enhancement of First World War footage mean for archives? Speaker (in Eng.) Dr. Elena Nepoti, Preservation Manager, Imperial War Museums

They Shall Not Grow Old

Dir.: Peter Jackson
| 99 minutes

Marking WWI’s centenary, with the assistance of a remarkable technical team, hundreds of hours of footage from the Imperial War Museum archive were restored, painted, and a new soundtrack was added. The result is an astonishing retelling of the Great War.

Screening in the presence of director and producer Karen Shakhnazarov

The Mirror

Dir.: Andrei Tarkovsky
| 106 minutes

In his most complex and personal work, Andrei Tarkovsky conveys the history of the Soviet Union. Melding the personal with the national and the universal, the film is constructed from personal episodes from the history of Russia. The result is a masterpiece with rare poetic power.