Israeli cinema's biggest box office hit of 2019, "The Mossad", will be screened in Mumbai on February 16 during the Jerusalem-Mumbai festival. The film's director Alon Gur Arye will be attending the movie's screening and will later engage with the audience through a discussion. "I am very excited to visit Mumbai for the first time. I find Bollywood fascinating and I have always found similarities in Israeli and Indian characters in their love for cinema, humour and music", Guy Arye told PTI. Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari Wins US Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at 2020 Sundance Film Fest.
"The Mossad" revolves around Guy Moran (Tsahi Halevi), a sleek Mossad agent, who must deal with Linda Harris (Efrat Dor), a manipulative CIA operative, with each of them competing to get the credit for saving the world from an international terror organisation when an American tech-billionaire is kidnapped in Jerusalem. Arye said he has been a fan of Bollywood movies and would like to collaborate with an Indian filmmaker on a potential film. Shut Up Sona: After Rocking MAMI, Sona Mohapatra’s Docu-Drama to Be Screened at Rotterdam Film Fest 2020.
"During this visit, I will hold meetings with potential Bollywood partners to explore possible collaboration on future Bollywood-Israeli productions. I see an immense potential for such a collaborative venture. "Strengthening Indo-Israel ties is today accompanied by growing interaction between people from both sides and better understanding of each others culture", the filmmaker said. The first edition of the Jerusalem-Mumbai Festival will be held on February 15 and 16. It seeks to showcase the special links between the two cities and to promote ties between India and Israel, a municipal official here said.
"In the first such collaborative cultural event for the Jerusalem municipality in an Asian city, Jerusalem-Mumbai Festival looks to showcase the special links between the two cities while demonstrating their unique cultural traditions", the official told PTI, adding that the events on February 16 will be open to the public. "The event is also an opportunity to promote collaborations between Jerusalem and Maharashtra in the cultural domain and will serve as another milestone in the growing partnership between the two countries.
We hope that it will inspire artists from Jerusalem and Mumbai to work together", the official added. It creates a platform for future fruitful cooperation among artists, as well as in various potential fields, such as tourism, cinema, high-tech, the official said. The festival will take place on the lawns and auditorium of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum.