Eytan Fox’s ‘Sublet’ to open 37th Jerusalem Film Festival
'Sublet' stars Tony Award-winning actor John Benjamin Hickey as a New York Times travel writer grieving a loss who comes to Tel Aviv to research an article.
By HANNAH BROWNJohn Benjamin Hickey (right) and Niv Nissim are set to star in the Tel Aviv-based film Sublet from Israeli director Eytan Fox(photo credit: DANIEL MILLER)
The 37th Jerusalem Film Festival, which will run online and possibly in several auditoriums at the Jerusalem Cinematheque from December 10-20, announced Tuesday that its opening film will be Eytan Fox’s Sublet.Sublet stars Tony Award-winning actor John Benjamin Hickey as a New York Times travel writer grieving a loss who comes to Tel Aviv to research an article. During his visit, the city’s energy and a younger man (Niv Nissim), who becomes his guide to the city, bring him back to life.The movie had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this year (full disclosure: I was a script editor on the film). The Hollywood Reporter wrote, “Eytan Fox... brings sensitivity, restraint and slow-burn sensuality to a story of cross-generational emotional awakening in Sublet.”The movie is Hickey’s first feature-film leading role and Nissim’s screen debut. It has been showing at film festivals around the world and won Audience Awards at the Chicago LGBT Festival and the ImageOut, the Rochester LGBT Film Festival.Fox is one of Israel’s leading directors. Among his previous films are Yossi & Jagger, Walk on Water, Cupcakes and Yossi. He also created the ground-breaking television series Florentine. Fox co-wrote Sublet with journalist Itay Segal. The film was shot on the streets of Tel Aviv, and was produced by United King Films, Moshe Edery, Micky Rabinovitz and Gal Uchovsky.Dr. Noa Regev, the CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and the Jerusalem Film Festival, and Elad Samorzik, the artistic director of the festival, said in a statement, “Sublet is a film full of warmth and sensitivity that combines human and cinematic intelligence. The film touched us deeply and we are confident that it will excite and surprise the festival viewers. It is a great honor for us to open the festival this year with the new film by Eytan Fox, a beloved and esteemed creator who has greatly influenced Israeli culture over the past three decades.”The closing-night film will be Emmanuel Mouret’s Love Affairs (also known as The Things We Do, the Things We Say), a love story that was an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival this year. It stars Camelia Jordana and Niels Schneider.The full program of the Jerusalem Film Festival is scheduled to be announced soon.
