The 39th Jerusalem Film Festival, which begins on July 21, has announced that its opening night film will be Ruben Ostlund’s Triangle of Sadness, which won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The opening night screening will be held at the Sultan’s Pool Amphitheatre, which seats about 5,000. The festival will run until July 31 at the Jerusalem Cinematheque and other theaters around the city and will present over 200 films from more than 50 countries, as well as the premieres of Israeli movies. There will be master classes, pitching forums and other special events.
Triangle of Sadness is the second movie by Ostlund to take the top prize at Cannes and it is an irreverent story that pokes fun at social-media influencers and the billionaire elite. A group of supermodels and super-rich moguls set off on a cruise together and, when the ship sinks, the survivors quickly realize that only the crew members have the skills to stay alive, and that while wealth means nothing on a deserted island, attractiveness still has value. Woody Harrelson plays the ship’s captain. It’s a 21rst century twist on the J.M. Barrie play, The Admirable Crichton, about a butler who becomes a ruler when upper-class Brits are shipwrecked.
Roni Mahadav-Levin, the CEO of the cinematheque, and Elad Samorzik, the artistic director of the festival, said, “We are proud to open this year’s festival with Triangle of Sadness, one of the most beautiful, clever and funny films we’ve seen in a long time.”
"Triangle of Sadness is one of the most beautiful, clever and funny films we’ve seen in a long time.”
Roni Mahadav-Levin and Elad Samorzik
Lev Cinemas will distribute the movie in Israel following the festival.