Trailer Released for Hebrew-Language Film ‘America’ Ahead of Festival Premiere

A trailer was released on Sunday for the new Hebrew-language and Israeli-directed film “America,” which will make its world premiere at the 56th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival next month.

Directed and written by Ofir Raul Graizer (“The Cakemaker”), the drama is about an Israeli swimming coach named Eli, who lives in Chicago. After receiving a phone call that his estranged father has passed away, Eli returns to Tel Aviv for the first time in 10 years to deal with the estate.

During his stay in Israel, he visits a childhood friend who runs a small flower shop in Jaffa with his fiancée, a florist who has similarly lost touch with her family. Eli’s visit “will set in motion a series of events that will affect everyone’s lives,” according to Beta Cinema, which is handling world sales for the film. “America” is a story “set between a flower shop and an ancient monastery, between a swimming pool and the Mediterranean, between life and death — and somewhere in the middle.”

“For me, the core of the story is a strong and almost metaphysical friendship or companionship,” said Graizer. “But I believe and hope everyone who watches it will find something else, because it tells different stories. It’s about life changing abruptly, our dreams and aspiration suddenly adjusting to a new reality that forces us to deal with our past and re-think our place in the world. It’s a story about finding or rediscovering the term ‘home.’”

The film is produced by Laila Films alongside Schiwago Film and Mimesis Film, and stars Oshrat Ingedashet, Michael Moshonov (“Mary Magdalene”) and Ofri Biterman.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will take place July 1-9.

Watch the trailer for “America” below.