Family Documentaries

Family Documentaries

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Family Documentaries
  • On My Way to Father's Land

    A moving documentary account of a son's struggle to understand his father's past. The film takes us on two journeys: the first is to Vienna, where director Preminger's father returns to his childhood home to share stories of his youth during the Nazi occupation. On the second journey, we follow P...

  • I, the Aforementioned Infant

    The film depicts filmmaker Ronit Kertsner's personal journey 10 years after she met her biological mother in Paris, in an attempt to find ways to maintain a meaningful relationship with the woman who had come to Israel from Paris in 1956, gave birth to her, and then gave her up for adoption. In a...

  • Shadow in Baghdad

    A young Iraqi journalist sets out to write about Linda Abdul Aziz, who escaped to Israel in the early 70's and whose father, a prominent lawyer, had been kidnapped in Baghdad. The continuous dialogue between the two slowly uncovers the tragic end of her father, as well as that of a whole Jewish c...

  • Photonovela

    A 12-year-old girl must complete a family history assignment for school. The boring task slowly becomes a sweeping drama embodying many secrets during three generations of one family, beginning before the Second World War, continuing as Holocaust refugees, and ending with the fall of the collecti...

  • Family Matters

    Thirty years ago, the divorce of a woman, who later became a renowned author, and her husband, an esteemed rabbi, shook the religious city of Bnei Barak and affected the lives of their seven children. One of the couple’s daughters embarks on a journey among the ghosts of her childhood, trying to ...

  • The Sign For Love

    When El-Ad was a child, his mother told him: "Raising you is like raising three kids." Ever since that moment, he felt guilty for being deaf, and tried extra hard to be like everyone else. He became even more alienated after the tragic death of his mother and the breakdown of his family. El-Ad la...

  • To Die in Jerusalem

    This instant-classic Israeli documentary unabashedly explores the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the personal loss of two families.

    This program may contain strong language, nudity, and/or violence. Viewer discretion is advised.

    Year: 2007
    Language: English, Hebrew & Arabic, English subti...

  • Saving the Hermans

    The Hermans with their three children set off on an adventurous trip from Thailand to Laos, Cambodia, China, Kazakhstan and from there, along the Silk Road to Cyprus. Their journey is a fulfillment of a dream and a chance to save their marriage. They fight and quarrel, laugh and cry. They meet ex...

  • Mother Tongue

    Four women in their 60's tell of their charged relationships with their late mothers, the power relations in the family, and the relations with their children. Three of them are second-generation Holocaust survivors, and one of Yemenite origin. However, their sincerity eliminates all differences ...

  • The Driving Spirit

    Menora Hazani, the film's director, embarks on a revealing journey with her father Benny Katzover and his pioneering friends, the leaders of the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. Together they unfold the unique story of how a small number of resolved and determined young men decided and fi...

  • Our Struggle

    Through the microcosm of one family’s history, "Our Struggle" offers a unique glimpse into the past, present, and future of the State of Israel, a continuum that is closely intertwined with our own past, and at the same time reflects the current areas of conflict between the societies, cultures, ...

  • The Wonderful Kingdom of Papa Alaev

    This is the modern-day Shakespearean tale about a legendary Tajik-Israeli musical family controlled by the charismatic patriarch, Papa Alaev. Only his equally strong-willed daughter Ada dares to resist his will. As Papa nears 80 and generations clash over new musical directions, the family show m...

  • Family in Transition

    This is the story of a family in Nahariya, a small traditional town in Israel, whose lives change completely after their father finally decides to tell his family that he's a transgender woman. Their mother chooses to stay with her spouse through the whole process, but just as it seems that life ...

  • Fence Your Best

    Haim Hatuel started piercing his kids at the age of 5. Today, they are Israeli fencing champions. It all started a day after his release from the army, when he saw an ad that changed his life. He was accepted into a fencing academy, a social sport initiative aimed at turning street kids into law-...

  • The Light of Fire

    After losing 40 years of work in a sudden fire, American-Israeli artist Yoram Raanan begins painting again. But as surprising images emerge from his work, Yoram and his family are forced to realize how truly different everything has become. A film about heartbreaking loss and inspiring resilience...

  • I Am Israel

    Go on a soaring journey through the Land of the Bible, and get to know Jewish men and women whose very lives are a testimony to the promises of God.

    Year: 2017
    Language: English
    Director: David Kiern
    Producer: Lance McAlindon

  • Probation Time

    Ariela, an Ethiopian girl, was adopted by the director’s parents. Each of her nine older siblings chose a unique path to follow. Only Ariela forces the family to contend with alcoholism, petty thefts, and prison. Will her family be able to love her unconditionally?

    This program may contain stron...

  • Elish's Notebooks

    82-year-old Elisheva Rise passed away. As her children clear out her home, they find journals she secretly wrote to each of them, documenting their lives from their birth until her last day. Every evening she would sit in her kibbutz home and write to her seven children, whom she had never hugged...

  • Love in Israel

    Israel is a country of extreme diversity. When people here fall in love, the mix can be both explosive and beautiful. Lure’s “Love In” is a series in that looks at the unique ways couples around the globe express their love for one another. In the episode “Love In Israel,” the director explores s...

  • Marrying an Ice Cream Factory

    Velvel, Ranni’s father, was a poor orphan, who married Raya Strauss and began working in the family owned factory (which started as a small dairy farm and became one of the biggest food conglomerates in Israel). 8-millimeter reels, discovered after his death, arouse questions that lead Ranni to e...

  • Photo Farag

    The emotional tale of a big family that revolutionized photography in Israel, from their rise to their downfall. Using rare footage, Kobi Farag embarks on a journey to solve the riddle that is this family.

    Year: 2016
    Language: Hebrew, English subtitles
    Director: Kobi Farag
    Producer: Mosh Danon

  • Rafting to Bombay

    While filming his father revisiting his childhood city of Mumbai, Israeli director Erez Laufer finds himself caught in the worst terror attack in the city's history.

    Year: 2009
    Languages: English & Hebrew, English subtitles
    Director: Erez Laufer
    Producer: Erez Laufer
    Writer: Erez Laufer