Michael, a travel columnist for The New York Times, goes to Tel Aviv to write an article after suffering a tragedy. He is still grieving and the loss has caused problems between him and his husband. He just wants to do his research and go home. But when he sublets an apartment from Tomer, a young film student, he finds himself drawn into the life of the city.
Superficially, the two men couldn’t be more different. Michael is an established journalist who has been with his partner for decades. He came of age during the years when AIDS was ravaging the gay community and he appreciates how much things have changed.
Tomer struggles to earn a living and is still trying to figure out what kind of films he wants to make. He can’t imagine settling down and is into casual sex, avoiding anyone who wants to get serious. Michael hasn’t been to Israel since his Bar Mitzvah trip, which he didn’t enjoy much. His Jewish identity has never meant much to him. So he is surprised to find a city filled with fascinating contradictions and pulsing with life. What really begins to turn things around for him is the unlikely and intense bond he forms with Tomer, which transforms both their lives in unexpected ways. The director, Eytan Fox, was born in New York City and raised in Israel. Through this story of a relationship between two men, he examines different sides of his own identity.
Invited Guests: Director Eytan Fox; Actor John Benjamin Hickey; Actor Niv Nissim
Geoblocked to California
EYTAN FOX (Writer/Director): Eytan Fox was born in New York and grew up in Israel. SUBLET is his fourth film in the Tribeca Film Festival. YOSSI & JAGGER, a groundbreaking love story about male Israeli soldiers, won the Best Actor Award in 2003. Its 2012 sequel, YOSSI, opened the competition. THE BUBBLE, about a group of friends in Tel Aviv and a young Palestinian who comes to live with them, was shown at TFF in 2007.
His 2004 movie, WALK ON WATER, about a Mossad agent tracking the grandson of a Nazi, opened the Panorama at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004 and was named one of the top foreign films of 2005 by the National Board of Review, USA. His 2013 film, CUPCAKES, was a musical comedy about friends entering an international song contest. His films have won 28 international awards altogether. His television shows include the critically acclaimed Israeli series, Florentine and Mary Lou.