Israel 2006, Hebrew with English subtitles, 35mm, 107 min
Director: Shemi Zarhin
Screenplay: Shemi Zarhin
Cinematography: Itzik Portal
Cast: Asi Levy, Rotem Abuhav, Dror Keren, Levena Finkelstein
Print Source: Lilach-Adler
Aviva is a hard-working cook in a hotel in the small northern Israeli town of Tiberias . Although her life is filled with challenges, she is finally fulfilling her lifelong dream. For years Aviva has been writing but she has never gone so far as to attempt getting her work published. Instead she has kept her remarkable writing hidden from the world. Then one day, her sister Anita introduces her to Oded, an accomplished novelist who lectures creative writing.
While Aviva chases her literary dream, she still has to take care of her unemployed husband, her wayward children, her unstable mother, and most of all her sister, who has become perhaps a little too involved in Aviva's life.
In many ways, Aviva's contents and themes are familiar but they are given a freshness with careful direction from Shemi Zarhin and a standout performance from Assi Levy as the eternally put-upon Aviva. And although the film makes no mention of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the mere fact that people are living the normal lives detailed in Aviva, is in itself a political statement.
The Cape Winelands will again at the 2012 edition of this festival present a series of Masterclasses and workshops. These events are sponsored by the City of Cape Town and Wesgro.
Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes festival, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s new film has the magic of a fairy tale and the simplicity of a folk tale. Wonderfully immersive, slow and dreamy, 
