From May ’09 Spotlight: The Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema, in collaboration with the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest and the Petach Tikva Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International, will screen Desperado Square on Tuesday, May 12 at 6 p.m. at the Chicago Cultural Center on Michigan and Randolph.
On the eve of his first Yahrzeit, Avram Mandabon comes to his son Nissim in a dream and asks him to reopen an old movie theatre that’s been boarded up since before Nissim’s birth. A good son knows better than to ignore instructions from the beyond, and soon the whole town is involved except Avram’s widow, Seniora. What secrets has “the Diva” been keeping all these years?
“I love this film for being funny, sensitive and sad, all at the same time,” CFIC committee member Ophira Ben-Arieh told me, and I agree. Desperado Square received five awards from the Israel Film Academy in 2000 (including Best Director and Best Music). Come to the free screening and watch this delightful film with friends, or get the DVD from Netflix and watch it at home. Either way, make sure you have tissues handy!
