Welcome
Dear cinema goers,
We are happy to host Tom Cullen and Sandra Hebron at the British Film Festival 2012; we codially invite you to join their talks during the festival in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa.
We are proud and excited to bring back the British Film Festival. This has arguably been one of the best years in British Cinema – with some leaders in the field saying we have entered a "Golden Age". We are delighted therefore to bring you a programme that presents some of the most intriguing films produced in the UK in the last year.
Paddy Considine’s ‘Tyrannosaur’, a profound drama starring the magnificent Peter Mullan, is one of the most impressive debut features in British Cinema. Ben Wheatley’s horror film ‘Kill List’ has already earned cult status in the UK. The Turner Prize winner Steve McQueen presents ‘Shame’, a breathtaking drama exploring human addiction.
These marvelous examples of new British Cinema not only entertain but provide challenging and important questions about the issues faced by contemporary British society. The festival programme will provide opportunities for discussion and reflection - bringing an Israeli perspective to these issues.
The British Film Festival comes close on the heels of an inspiring launch at the Haifa International Film Festival of the UK-Israel Co-Production Film Treaty which was ratified earlier this year. We will continue to support the building of closer relations between film makers, helping to breathe life into the treaty and therefore strengthening the cultural relations between Israel and the UK.
We wish to thank the festival team, our partners at the Cinematheques, all our supporters and distributors, whose dedication and creativity made this festival possible. We thank the British Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, not just for gracing the opening night, but also for his enthusiastic support for film.
We express our thanks to you, the audience of the festival, whose passion and curiosity for cinema makes it all worthwhile. Enjoy the films.
Dr Simon Kay, Director
Naomi Michaeli, Arts Manager
The British Council, Israel
These marvelous examples of new British Cinema not only entertain but provide challenging and important questions about the issues faced by contemporary British society. The festival programme will provide opportunities for discussion and reflection - bringing an Israeli perspective to these issues.
The British Film Festival comes close on the heels of an inspiring launch at the Haifa International Film Festival of the UK-Israel Co-Production Film Treaty which was ratified earlier this year. We will continue to support the building of closer relations between film makers, helping to breathe life into the treaty and therefore strengthening the cultural relations between Israel and the UK.
We wish to thank the festival team, our partners at the Cinematheques, all our supporters and distributors, whose dedication and creativity made this festival possible. We thank the British Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, not just for gracing the opening night, but also for his enthusiastic support for film.
We express our thanks to you, the audience of the festival, whose passion and curiosity for cinema makes it all worthwhile. Enjoy the films.
Dr Simon Kay, Director
Naomi Michaeli, Arts Manager
The British Council, Israel
