Afula Express (Pick a card)

Julie Shles, 1997, 95 min, Hebrew, Dramatic comedy

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"Julie Shles created the most Israeli film through and through that swept us to the cinema. A Chekhov and Fellini like film- pathetic and ridiculous on the one hand, uplifting on the other. Great achievement"
Nachman Ingber
Yedioth Ahronoth

Best Picture, Best Director and 4 more prizes
Israeli Academy Awards

Best Feature Film
The Wolgin Award, Jerusalem int’l FF, 1997

[ SYNOPSIS ]

Afula Express is a humanistic comedy about love, magic, and the little people who try to make big dreams come true in the big city.

David is a car electrician from Afula, a small town in northern Israel. One day he gets fed up and decides to drop everything and move to Tel-Aviv with only a little savings, a few belongings, and his outspoken girlfriend, Batya, in order to purse his childhood dream, to be magician. There is just one, small factor the couple didn’t take into account. David hasn’t got it. He is the worst magician that ever lived. This leads our two heroes to face up the difference between dreams and reality. Will they discover that magic really does exist?

Stills

Behind the scenes

DIRECTOR

Julie Shles

Cast

  • Tzvika Hadar – David
  • Esti Zackheim – Batya
  • Aryeh MosKuna – Shimon
  • Orly Perl – Vickie
  • Natan Zahavi – Sleidini
  • Pini Kidron – Haim
  • Eveline Caplon – Natasha
  • Amit Lior – Yair
  • Tsipor Aizen – Reporter

Crew

  • Julie Shles – Director
  • Assaf Amir – Producer
  • Amit Leor – Scriptwriter
  • Itzik Portal – Director of Photography
  • Maor Keshet – Editor
  • Yuval Shafrir – Original Score
  • Eva Gronowitz – Art Director
  • Tzipi Anglisher – Costume Design
  • Yochai Moshe – Sound Recording
  • Gil Toren– Sound Design
  • Levana Hakim, Yotvat Palter – Casting
  • Eti Ben-non – Makeup Artist
  • Yochanan Kredo – 1st Assistant Director
  • Talia Goshen – Line Producer
  • *Jackie Matityahu – Stils

The film was produced with the support of