The Israeli Boys is a new collection of short films, out now from NQV Media. With six diverse films from across Israel, we see a couple opening up their relationship, some friends travelling the desert, an intimate hookup, a teenage sex worker, a family who discovers their father was gay after his death and a middle-aged man addressing his lost youth. THREE.
Starring: Tom Chodorov, Asaf Peri, Or Asher, Gil Naveh. Director: Lior Soroko
When a couple decide to have a threesome with a man they met in a club, Pandora’s Box is opened as they struggle to deal with the feelings letting being intimate with someone else creates. An intelligent psychological study, a trio of sturdy performances anchor this depiction of a brief moment of turmoil in an otherwise harmonious relationship. A strong short about beautiful people in a beautiful home dealing with a very 21st century problem.
A TRIP TO THE DESERT. Starring: Lior Haen, Elad Herman, Yossi Maman. Directors: Nizam Loren, Lior Haen.
Three friends travel into the desert hiking, but in complete isolation, tensions begin to rise as they discuss things they usually avoid. One is gay and another is strictly religious and the pair fight bitterly after their third friend disappears into the wilderness. A piece of high drama depicting the conflict between these two opposing forces, this is a tense character piece that burns bright, burns fast and explodes, regularly.
RUBBER DOLPHIN. Starring: Chen Hefetz, Omri Laron. Director: Ori Aharon We follow two men throughout the duration of their hookup. From the awkward meeting at the door, through the sex and conversation afterwards we are inserted firmly into the middle of this brief intimacy. Stark in its depiction of realistic sex, the camera is I afraid of extreme closeup and lingering observation. Their conversation borders on the overly profound, but the chemistry is palpable between the leads.
STAV. Starring: Danielle Chamelnik, Toar Israel. Director: Michal Haggiag
A volunteer worker searches all around the city as she can’t find the wayward teen in her care, Stav. Finding out that he moonlights as a sex worker, she must explore the underbelly of the city and see things she has never witnessed before in an attempt to keep him safe. Seeing everything from her point of view, we see the validity of both her concern and his life choices. A brief snapshot of this friendship, it will leave you wanting to see a lot more of the times when their lives intercept.
AFTER HIS DEATH. Starring: Adi Bielski, Levana Finkelstein, Kim Gordon, Ori Lachmi. Director: Lior Soroka
After the death of her father, Ayelet discovers that he had a male partner who her mother has kept secret her whole life. An emotive short about a younger generation understanding what the older could not, this is a beautifully simple piece about forgiveness and the catharsis of honesty. The closing ranks of her family sit in opposition to her quest for the truth and dealing with this conflict while she is grieving makes for a complex and warm central character, whose willingness to understand is beautifully refreshing.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE.
Starring: Uri Klauzner, Michal Bernstein, Tal Blankstein, Chen Hefetz, Ben Heine, Yoav Rotman. Director: Moshe Rosenthal
A teacher on a mysterious leave of absence from school bumps into three ex-students at night and decides to join them on a night of adventures. Having spent his entire life doing what he was meant to do, this is his moment of recklessness, living out the youthful abandon that he never got to do. While we see plenty of the boys frolicking around together, it’s the shots of his reactions that mean the most, laden with a longing for something he never quite embraced. Beautifully shot, drenched in the lights of the city, this is a moving and nostalgic portrait of a complex but understated man. OUT ON 7TH FEBRUARY 2020 ON DVD AND ON DEMAND, RELEASED BY NQV MEDIA. Click here for more info.