Events

The new film by cinematographer Wim Wenders ("Paris, Texas", "Wings of Desire" and "Pina") is a smart, beautiful and moving drama that takes the small and simple moments of life and shows them to us at the peak of their beauty. 

The film, which takes place in the spectacular streets and parks of Tokyo, was screened as part of the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Best Actor award and much audience acclaim. 

Hirayama lives a simple life and seems content with it. He works as a cleaner and has a regular, orderly daily routine. He enjoys reading books, photographing trees and listening to music, mainly from the 80s, still on an old tape deck. When his young niece arrives on his doorstep, the routine of his life suddenly changes and a special bond is forged between the two, forcing Hirayama to deal with things he thought he left behind.  

Directed by: Wim Wenders

Cast: Koji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada

Japan, 2024 | 123 minutes | Japanese | Hebrew and English subtitles 

Academy Award® nominee Benedict Cumberbatch takes on the title role of Shakespeare’s great tragedy. As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralysed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state. 

“One of the most visually and atmospherically stunning productions I’ve ever seen, of anything, ever” (Time Out).

Dir.:Lyndsey Turner
W.:Benedict Cumberbatch
210 minutes (with break) | English | Hebrew subtitles
 

Dudu Carmel, oboist | Linor Katz, cellist | Tal Samnon, pianist

R. Schumann - Fantasiestiucke op. 88 (20’)
C. Schumann - Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen Op 13
C. Schumann - An einem lichten Morgen Op 23
R. Schumann - Im wünderschönen Monat Mai Op 48, from Dichterliebe
C. Schumann - Adagio and Allegro for Oboe and Piano (9’)
C. Schumann - selections from Piano Trio op. 17 in G Minor (20’)
 

The second in a series of performances by quality jazz ensembles at the Sela Bar, with a talented ensemble that combines classical and folk Turkish music with Western music influences.

Ras el Hanout is a stormy and surprising ensemble that combines classical and folk Turkish music and electric instruments, western musicality and pure pleasure, the streets of Istanbul steeped in a groovy Western vibe. Turkish music is already a kind of fusion of elements from all over the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East and the Balkans. The ensemble is further mixed with a fresh and surprising blend of bağlama and clarinet with bass, drums and keyboards, of Turkish melodies and rhythms with jazzy harmonic sensitivity, funk aromas and electrifying electric energy. The members of Ras el Hanout devote heart and soul to playing music that is touching, uncompromising, spectacular and exciting. The ensemble recently performed at the Sufi Festival, Mediterranee Festival, East West House, Tammuz House of Music and more.  

Elad Cohen (clarinet) | Asher Farber (bağlama and other) | Yehoshua Levy (piano) | Bar Geva (bass) | Matan Deri (drums)

Please note: Doors open at 20:30 Performance starts at 21:00 (Limited no. of seats).  

Series coordinator, Matan Jacov

Dudu Tassa - One of the most important, original, creative and profound artists in Israeli music of a consistent and rare quality for over 2 decades. 

His collaborations with the greatest artists in Israel have repeatedly achieved enthusiastic acclaim and it seems that his burst of creativity does not stop for a moment. 

Tassa comes to Sela's stage with his incredibly unique and excellent music, song and lyrics that soften even a hard heart. Songs from the new album alongside his incredible and renowned repertoire.

Dudu Tassa - vocals, guitar | Barak Kerem - drums | Nir Maimon - bass | Ariel Cassis - canon | Sefi Zisling - trumpet | Chen Shenhar - violin | Gili Radian-Sade - viola | Maya Lee Roman - cello
 

Photo: Lior Keter

Paul Goodwin conductor (Britain), Guy Braunstein violin

Arensky | Variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky, op. 35

Mozart | Violin Concerto no. 3, K. 216

Schumann | Three Romances, op. 94 – arr. for violin and strings

Haydn | Symphony no. 83, "La Poule" 

Award for Best Debut Film DocAviv. 

The story of women's relationship with their breasts unfolds in the fitting room of a Jaffa bra shop.
With each curtain opening, a woman confronts herself in the mirror, her mood dictating the framing of her shot. While attempting to find a bra that fits, she narrates her story because the story of boobs is the story of life itself. From birth, when it gives us life to the sobering reminder of mammograms, alerting us to the fact that breasts can also take it away. In between, there is a lifelong relationship – thrilling, sexy, and funny but also messy, burdensome, sometimes threatening. It's a story that bursts out, always one step ahead of you, and even when you couldn't or wouldn't tell it, it is etched on your body.

Director:  Michal Cohen 

Israel 24 | 68 minutes | Hebrew, English subtitles 
 

DocAviv 2024

On the hot summer days in the old city of Acre, a tradition connects the generations – children and teens jump from the old city walls into the sea waters below, a test of courage on the path to masculine maturity. During the endless sweltering days friendships are forged around this defining tradition, everlasting as the ranks of youth are replenished from generation to generation. 

The film unveils a nostalgic and stirring world of friendships, dangers and displays of bravery – all anchored in the experience of youthful masculinity atop the ancient city walls. 

Director: Donna Naor Hacohen, Firas Roby

Israel 2025 | 54 Minutes | Hebrew, Arabic and English | Hebrew subtitles 

The screening of the film "The Color of Ink" has been postponed by a day, from Friday morning, January 31st, to the following day, Saturday, February 1st, at 11:00 AM.

Ink is our primordial medium – it has recorded the evolution of humanity. The film ‘The Color of Ink’ is a poetic and chemical journey, revealing the mystery and power of the medium through the eyes of Jason Logan, a visionary ink maker. Working with ingredients he collects in nature – weeds, berries, tree bark, flowers, rocks, rust – he makes ink from almost anything and sends custom-ordered inks to an eclectic range of artists around the world, from a New York caricaturist to a Japanese calligrapher whose work is a stirring blend of words, illustration, ink and movement. He also visits some of them, such as an artist who creates ochre colors from rocks, or indigenous artists who make red color from beetles in Mexico (he sends the red ink he produces to Margaret Atwood, creator of "The Handmaid's Tale", who draws women in red dresses for him). When the ink and the colors he sent take on a life of their own, his playful alchemy paints a story of color that reconnects us to the earth and returns us to a childlike sense of wonder. A film that delights in the sensuality of ink, in the way it is absorbed by paper, mixes with other colors, influences them, seeps into them, arouses a passion for chemistry, or alchemy and above all, it is a song of praise for craft, for deliberateness, for wonderful control of materials, for the simplicity of creation and life.

The film joins a common movement that is growing worldwide, to revive analog media and natural paint, not only as a nostalgic act – in a digital age, when the line between truth and lies has become so slippery, there is a yearning for the indelible substance of ink and the tangible connection of the language of handicraft. Throughout civilization, ink has remained our most enduring documentation, a fossilized human consciousness. And in its quick radiance, one can discover the magic of a medium that still binds us like nothing else – a stamp of authenticity in an age of binary code. 

Director: Brian D. Johnson

Canada 2022 | 105 Minutes | English Japanese and Spanish | Hebrew subtitles 
 

Yair Assulin, writer and thinker, winner of the Sapir Prize for a Debut Novel in 2011, the Ministry of Culture Prize and the Prime Minister’s Prize for Hebrew Literary Works in 2016. He previously taught Jewish Studies and Comparative Literature at Yale University, writes a regular column in Haaretz newspaper and hosts the thought program on ‘Kan’.

Idan Segev is a professor of computational neuroscience at the Center for Brain Sciences at the Hebrew University, a senior partner in the Blue Brain Project (Switzerland) and the Human Brain Project (EU), and one of the founders of Frontiers, the international scientific journal. His main field of interest is the study of neurons and neural networks in mammalian and human brains, with the aim of understanding “what makes humans unique.” Idan is also interested in the connection between the brain and art, and has run fascinating meetings between artists and scientists.

The dialog will address the revolutionary times we live in – the changing of the world order – the great challenges and opportunities facing humanity today, and the burning questions that lie ahead. It will illuminate the critical importance of partnerships between researchers in the natural sciences and those in the social sciences and humanities, so that we can thrive in a new, fruitful and creative world – humanity as a whole, and Israeli society in particular. 

Under the auspices of The Braginsky Center for the Interface between Science and the Humanities.
 

On stage, a fine ensemble that includes Chava, Eran Weitz (guitars and musical producer) and two outstanding new members, Maya Belsitzman (cello and vocals) and Matan Efrat (percussion and computer). 

The new ensemble paints the songs with sound and other colors, like scenes in the cinema. Songs that have not yet been performed on stage alongside those that have. A gentle acrobatic meander connects the pieces in Alberstein’s rich repertoire of over sixty albums and hundreds of songs. Side by side, weaving songs from then and now, about this country and faraway places, about the personal and the collective, together transforming the evening into one living Tapestry.

“The new show by Chava Alberstein is a rare experience. A one-of-a-kind evening that the intelligent singer cleverly weaves, with her excellent ensemble, among the old.” Amir Schwartz, Ynet
 

Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) and directed by Vicky Jones, Fleabag is a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life. Following a box-office record-breaking run in cinemas in 2019, the one-woman show on the big screen.
Fleabag may seem oversexed, emotionally unfiltered and self-obsessed, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig café struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose. 

The hilarious, award-winning play that inspired the BBC’s hit TV series Fleabag, was filmed live on stage in London’s West End in 2019.
Presented by DryWrite, Soho Theatre and Annapurna Theatre

Dir: Vicky Jones  Written and performed by: Phoebe Waller-Bridge

80 minutes | English | Hebrew subtitles

★★★★★

‘A triumphant return for Phoebe Waller-Bridge's hilarious, relatable and painful one-woman show.’ The Stage, London ‘The theatrical event of the autumn, perhaps even the year.’ Broadway World Reviews from previous runs in New York and London 'Witty, filthy and supreme.'
Guardian 'Never has being a modern woman seemed so painfully funny, brutal, and hopeless all at once.'  Atlantic
 

Avner Biron conductor
Choir The Israeli Vocal Ensemble

Nielsen | Little Suite, op. 1 
Seter | Sabbath Cantata
Tchaikovsky | Serenade for strings, op. 48
 

Ari Þór Vilhjálmsson, Sharon Cohen violinists | Jonathan Gertner, Matan Noussimovitch violists | Haran Meltzer, Lia Perlov cellists

Kodaly - Serenade for two violins and viola (20’)
Janacek - String Quartet no. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata” (19’)
Dvorak - Sextet in A Major (35’)
 

A journey full of secrets and deceptions, which begins with real estate issues but actually devotes itself to matters of the heart, in Dana Modan’s first film as director, based on a graphic novel with family autobiographical elements, written and illustrated by her sister, Rutu Modan.

Regina and her granddaughter Mika embark on a journey to Poland to reclaim their family property seized during World War II. 
But their quest quickly unravels. Regina unexpectedly decides to abandon the mission entirely, leaving Mika lost and confused. 
To complicate matters further, an irritating distant relative keeps appearing at every turn. Just as Mika finds herself falling for a charming tour guide, Regina seizes the opportunity to pursue her own hidden agenda: finding her long-lost love, from whom she was separated seventy years ago.

‘The Property’ blends the different and similar characteristics of the Modan sisters as creators, and echoes their previous works: on the one hand, the pull to an ironic gaze and to comic situations steeped in black humor, evident in the television series created by Dana (‘Love Hurts’, ‘Significant Other’, ‘Aviram Katz’), and on the other hand, a dreamy-melancholic atmosphere that characterizes Rutu’s stories and illustrations. Cinematographer Yaron Scharf does a good job of translating the visual perspective of the illustrator Modan into film, and also of capturing Warsaw in a way that blurs its past and its present into a uniform, theatrical time, which well serves the journey that the grandmother and granddaughter take down memory lane.” (Shani Litman, Haaretz)
 

StageTalk Following the screening, a conversation with the film director Dana Modan

The third performance in the Jazz series at Sela Bar, a new show ahead of the release of the Yogev Shitrit Trio’s third album. 
Instrumental music composed, produced and arranged by Yogev: traditional music from the house where he grew up, Andalusian, Moroccan, and Israeli music, combined with contemporary jazz. Melodic, rhythmic music that is full of life.

Yogev Shitrit, drummer and composer, holds a bachelor’s degree in musicology from the Hebrew University. Since 2016, the trio has performed in more than forty countries at festivals and clubs, including the prestigious Panama Jazz Festival and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., one of the most coveted stages in the US. Recorded two studio albums and two live albums.

David Shitrit - piano | Bar Geva - bass | Yogev Shitrit - drums, composition, production and management
Series curator: Matan Jakov

Doors open at 20:30. Show starts at 21:00. Duration: Approx. 75 minutes. The show is in English.
 

Ada Karmi-Melamede is one of the most accomplished female architects in the world but little is known about her outside of Israel as she shies away from most press and publicity.
This film introduces us to a remarkable and reluctant protagonist through the lens of her filmmaker daughter, a former architect. 
Ada provides an unusually evocative perspective on place and country, as someone working towards improving the public sphere while that sphere deteriorates and becomes increasingly fraught. As so many are shaken by the fragility of the democracies we call home, Ada gives us ways to think about what we can aspire to in our personal and public lives, and the spaces and places in between.

Director: Yael Melamed

Israel 2024 | 82 minutes | Hebrew, English | Hebrew subtitles

StageTalk Following the screening, a conversation with the film director Yael Melamed 

Sam Mendes (The Lehman Trilogy) directs Mark Gatiss as John Gielgud and Johnny Flynn as Richard Burton in this fierce and funny new play. 
1964: Richard Burton, newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new Broadway production of Hamlet under John Gielgud’s exacting direction. But as rehearsals progress, two ages of theatre collide and the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel.

Written by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and designed by Es Devlin (The Crucible), the Evening Standard award-winning best new play was filmed live during a sold-out run at the National Theatre. 

‘A love letter to theatre’ Evening Standard ‘Will give you goosebumps’ Independent ‘Immaculately directed by Sam Mendes’ Times ‘A witty, deft, touching evocation of a fascinating, fraught encounter’ Telegraph ‘A brilliant, compassionate new play’ Financial Times

Dir: Sam Mendes

180 minutes (includes a brake)| English | Hebrew subtitles 

 

Sweet Dorothy visits the Philharmonic to tells us her story in a concert full of magic. 
With Toto and friends, we'll discover a world full of adventures and creations.

For ages: 5-8

Musicians: Eran Reemy,Trumpet | Zachary Silberschlag,Trumpet | Michal Mossek, Horn | Nir Erez, Trombone | Micha Davis, Trombone

Actors: Elay Almani and Ben Perry 

 
Directed and written by: Hadas Calderon and Oded Ehrlich


 

Venice International Film Festival, awarded with the Golden Lion

Drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar in his English-language full-length debut. 
For the project, he enlists Oscar winners Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, who star here in a wonderfully colorful, moving, and smart drama that premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and won much acclaim, with many praising the exciting acting, the surprising plot, and, as always with Almodóvar, the brilliant, courageous, and unique cinematics.

Ingrid (Julianne Moore) and Martha (Tilda Swinton) were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war reporter, and they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.

107 minutes | English | Hebrew subtitles

Avner Biron conductor
David Kadouch piano (France)

Milhaud | L'apothéose de Molière, op. 286
Saint-Saëns | Piano Concerto no. 2, op. 22
Schumann | Introduction & Allegro Appassionato, op. 92
Poulenc | Sinfonietta
 

Rona Kenan comes to Sela for an acoustic solo performance, rich in sounds and musical colors, offering a glimpse into the heart of her songs that have become part of the Israeli “soundtrack”. With the help of guitars, drum machines, percussion and other instruments, she opens a door to a unique primal place where she creates an unmediated dialogue with her audience.
 

A play with music about a cup of tea, a bear, a mouse and one big door: Grumpy Bear never gets along with anyone. He locks his door and is not interested in company. A little mouse arrives at his house, enthusiastic, determined and stubborn. Can he persuade Bear to have a cup of tea and cookie with him, and discover a new and exciting world of friendship? A playful physical comedy, with live music, five actors and many musical instruments.

Winner of the Early Childhood Show of the Year Award, winner of the Composition and Musical Arrangement Award for Yuval Bilgorai and Elad Tal, recipient of an Honorable Mention for musical performance at the 2020 Stage Award Ceremony.

Play and direction: Ruti Tamir and Gabriel Hadar, based on A Visitor For Bear stories by Bonny Becker. 
Featuring: Shiraz Rimon, Daniel Wertheim, Ofir Tesler, Guy Ron, Ruti Tamir
Duration: approx. 50 minutes. For ages 3-8

“A musical performance in the good old sense of the word... a joyful concoction of theater-story-musical that is fun to experience and feels like a classic.” The Stage “Magic. A gem. Recommended for anyone who has a child, and no less – for anyone who wants to expand their heart and feel.” Salona
 

Photographer: Ifat K. Aran 

The fourth performance in the Sela Bar Jazz Series, features the Turkiz Ensemble, an intriguing group that combines classical Arabic music with Western classical music, with touches of popular music, in original arrangements by the members of the ensemble. 

The Turkiz Ensemble is comprised of six musicians, each with a different musical background, bringing a unique sound to their show. 
The band's musicians specialize in playing Arabic, Turkish, Andalusian, classical music, contemporary classical music, metal, jazz, pop, Indian music and more. The show is a musical tour of the world of the maqam - the scale of the Arab world. 

Some familiar arrangements and some less so, will inspire you to dream and dance. Among the pieces played will be Turkish and classical Arabic compositions, such as Abdel Wahab, Daoud Akram, Bach, Beethoven, Shem Tov Levi, Bustan Avraham, Fayrouz, and others.

Naftali Cohen - Oud | Danielle Sassi -Nai and Flute | Hanan Becher - Piano  | Tamar Deutsch- cello | Tom Mashelnik - Percussion | Matan Jacov - Double bass
 

Series coordinator, Matan Jacov

Doors open at 20:30, Starts at 21:00, approx. 75 mins duration. The performance is in English
 

By Oscar Wilde, directed by Max Webster. Three-time Olivier Award-winner Sharon D Clarke is joined by Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who; Sex Education) in this joyful reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated comedy. 
 

While assuming the role of a dutiful guardian in the country, Jack lets loose in town under a false identity. 

Meanwhile, his friend Algy adopts a similar facade. Hoping to impress two eligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies they must carefully navigate. 

Max Webster (Life of Pi) directs this hilarious story of identity, impersonation and romance, filmed live from the National Theatre in London.

180 min. (includes a break) English, Hebrew subtitles. 

In collaboration with Jerusalem Cinematheque 
 

Avner Biron conductor
Reinhold Friedrich trumpet (Germany)

Hummel | Trumpet Concerto
Beethoven | Rec. & Aria from Fidelio, Act I no. 9, version for trumpet
Stravinsky | Concerto in E flat Major
Schubert | Symphony no. 4, D. 417, Tragic 
 

The third performance in the Sela Bar Jazz Series, featuring the organ played by Yonatan Riklis and the musical  spirit of the 50’s and 60’s, when the organ was the central sound in the jazz world. Riles is one of the pioneers in organ playing in Israel, bringing his unique sound to the central stage and leading a power trio of incredible musicians on a journey of soul and groove through the classics that shaped jazz. The jazzy music  is warm and rich, improvisational and passionate.

Yonatan Riklis - Organ I Ron Magril - Guitar I Uria Madar - Drums

Series coordinator, Matan Jacov

Doors open 20:30, Performance starts at 21:00, Duration ~75min, Language: English
 

Nitzan Canetty, Daniel Aizenshtadt violinists | Gili Radian-Sade violist | Lia Perlov cellist

Haydn String Quartet in D Major op. 64 no. 5 “Lark” (17-20’)
Mozart String Quartet no. 21 in D Major k.575 (20-25’)
Brahms Quartet no.2
 

A musical journey in the "Forest of a thousand steps" - Pooh's forest, accompanied by the Philharmonic's string quintet and actor Gavriel Hadar.
We'll meet many bees and a lot of honey, visit the rabbit's den and celebrate a special birthday for Eeyore.
This magical forest calls you all to come whenever you want. It's not far away, it's easy to find and actually – it's exactly where you all are right now.
Works by Vivaldi, Leroy Anderson, Charlie Chaplin, Kodai and more.
 

For ages: 5-8

Musicians: Sivann Maayani , Violin | Yuki Ishizaka, Violin |  Amir van der Hal, viola |  Gal Nyska, cello |  Nir Comforty, Bass

Writing, directing and acting: Gabriel Hadar
 

Sivann Maayani violinist | Gal Nyska cellist | Ishay Shaer pianist

Debussy - Sonata for Violin and Piano (12’)
Brahms - Piano Trio no. 2  in C Major (30’)
Debussy - Sonata for Cello and Piano (12’)
Ravel - Piano Trio in A minor (30’)