Award-winning docs and dramas dot Jerusalem Film Festival

A week before the 42nd edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival opens on July 17, the Jerusalem Cinematheque, which hosts the festival, unveiled on Tuesday the full program for the festival online.

The festival’s international program includes dozens of feature-length films—narrative, documentary and experimental.

The festival opens with the July 17 screening of Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

This year’s lineup includes award-winning films from the leading film festivals, including Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Sundance, IDFA, San Sebastián, Locarno, Tallinn, SXSW, Tribeca and Rotterdam, with film screenings taking place at the Cinematheque and the nearby Lev Smadar Cinema.

Featured films include “The Secret Agent” by Kleber Mendonça Filho, winner of best director and best actor awards at Cannes; “Urchin,” the debut feature by British actor Harris Dickinson and “Young Mother’s Home,” the latest film by the Dardenne brothers, which won best screenplay at Cannes.

Other screenings include “The Things You Kill” by Iranian-Canadian director Alireza Khatami; “April” by Dea Kulumbegashvili, winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and “Dreams,” the new film by Michel Franco starring Jessica Chastain, screened in the official competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

There’s also “Tow,” a drama about a homeless woman based on a true story, produced by and starring Rose Byrne, with performances by Octavia Spencer, who won an Oscar for her role in “The Help,” Ariana DeBose, Oscar winner for “West Side Story,” Dominic Sessa and Demi Lovato.

Other American films include “The Baltimorons,” a new comedy by Jay Duplass, winner of the Narrative Spotlight Award at SXSW.

There’s also “Middletown,” a new documentary by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine and from the Sundance Film Festival lineup and “Videoheaven,” a documentary from the Tribeca Festival, narrated by Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), which traces the rise and fall of video rental stores through their depictions in film and television.

The festival includes a Classics Program, with screenings of several films, including horror classic “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” screened alongside “Chain Reactions,” a new documentary on the film’s legacy featuring Stephen King, Takashi Miike, Patton Oswalt and Karyn Kusama.

The program also includes a screening of ‘The Passenger,” Michelangelo Antonioni’s masterpiece starring Jack Nicholson, and “The Pill,” David Perlov’s 1972 film, newly restored by the Israel Film Archive at the Jerusalem Cinematheque.

The festival will also screen dozens of Israeli films, including eight feature films competing for the Haggiag award for local cinema.

Actress Gal Gadot and Hollywood producer Lawrence Bender will be guests of honor at the opening event, where they will receive special tributes.

Approximately 70,000 film and culture lovers from Israel and around the world are expected to attend the festival, which hosts guests from the international film industry alongside Israeli filmmakers, actors, directors, producers, film fund managers and more.

Full details on the opening event, films, screening times, and ticket bookings are now available on the festival’s official website.