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SFFILM Festival

The Dune

Directed by Yossi Aviram

France/Israel | 87

8 May
Thu, May 8, 2014 at 6:30 pm PT
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Description

A complicated familial dynamic lies at the heart of Yossi Aviram’s unusually assured and moving first feature. Viewers first meet Hanoch, a laconic bicycle repairman living in a small town in the Israeli desert and seemingly more committed to playing chess with his buddy Fogel than to his pregnant girlfriend Yael. Meanwhile, in Paris, elderly missing-persons detective Ruben—shaken by an encounter with a depressed writer (Mathieu Amalric, making a strong impression in a single scene)—prepares for his retirement and searches for a new apartment with his longtime life partner Paolo. When Hanoch turns up in the City of Light and then makes a dash for the coast, a series of elliptical encounters and a mysterious incident at the beach slowly but surely bring him closer to Ruben and to a friendly stranger, Fabienne. Observing these seemingly disparate characters forge unexpected bonds is a true pleasure, as Aviram’s sensitive direction guides his intriguing protagonists through a series of quietly introspective scenes, allowing them time and space to achieve self-understanding never forced by plot machinations. Ruben and Paolo in particular are a true cinematic rarity: senior citizens in a loving same-sex relationship replete with tender kisses, shared joints and petty squabbles. With its mature take on the challenges and rewards of aging gracefully, reckoning with the past, and basking in the pleasures of a good chess game, a solo bike ride and steadfast companionship, The Dune is a deeply wise and satisfying debut by a very promising filmmaker. –Steven Jenkins

Director Yossi Aviram

Born in Jerusalem in 1971, Yossi Aviram graduated from the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in 2000. As a cinematographer, his documentary credits include Golda (2003), 5 Days (2005) and The Quest for the Missing Piece (2006). He also has directed the short documentaries In the City (1998), Anna (1999) and A Few Days (2003), and the award-winning feature-length documentary Paris Return, about an older gay couple with roots in France and Israel. The Dune is Aviram’s first narrative and was awarded Best Debut Feature at the 2013 Haifa Film Festival.

Film Details

Language French, Hebrew

Original Language Title La Dune

Year 2013

Premiere North American

Runtime 87

Country France/Israel

Director Yossi Aviram

Producer Yaël Fogiel, Laetitia Gonzalez, Amir Harel, Ayelet Kait

Writer Yossi Aviram

Editor Sari Eyouz

Cinematographer Antoine Héberlé

Music Avi Belleli

Cast Niels Arestrup, Lior Askenazi, Emma de Caunes, Guy Marchand, Mathieu Amalric