AVE GRADIVA, 18min., Israel
Directed by Yuri Riklis
When a lonely man, a fashion photographer, meets the sweetheart of his youth, from whom he separated under the pressure of his Oedipal mother, he is attacked by fragments of past memories and does everything he can to realize the love of his life, doubt in the dream - doubt in reality, doubt in the present - doubt in the past, under the influence of a literary and surrealistic character Gradiva.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

(a) From thematic point of view: a motivation to investigate by cinematic means the phenomena of LOVE which take place on the border between Dream and Reality.

(b) From cinematic point of view: Ave Gradiva tries to challenge the conventional perception of a short film as something limited in terms of time, place, and plot, and instead - to create a 19 min' show that embraces different countries and civilizations, lasts for thousands of years, and contains within it several kinds of LOVE.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

(a) From the Idea to the Rough Cut – 12 months.

(b) From the Rough Cut to the Final Cut – 12 months.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

(a) Female Sandwich.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

(a) Uncertainty and hesitation about the question - did I reach the Final Cut that is optimal both emotionally and cinematographically.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

(a) Full satisfaction from the fact that my artistic - cinematographic thesis that claims that LOVE is at its core - a surreal phenomenon was completely absorbed by the audience. And no less important - the message that not everything we see on the surface does exist in reality, and that just one small event or word can change our perception from end to end, was indeed well received by at least some of the viewers.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

(a) Basically, I am an architect - an artist. I decided that I wanted to make films when I came to the insight that the film has the power to change even a little bit the way of thinking of a person, and thus - to contribute to making the existing world more humane, including - to making it less competitive and more collaborative.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

(a) "Snows of Kilimanjaro" (the story by Ernest Hemingway).

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

(a) I really think that your festival is unique and differs from other festivals in that it creates immediate contact between the creator and the viewer. I can only wish for other festivals to adopt your model and not be content with producing winning certificates, but strive to create direct and unmediated contact between the creator and the viewer, as you do.

9. You submitted to the festival via Film Freeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

(a) A very reliable and effective platform.

10. What is your favorite meal?

(a) Buckwheat with milk.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

(a) This is a feature movie – "The Resurrection", with the same themes as those of AVE GRADIVA: a love triangle between a son, his mother and the love of his heart. All this against the background of a terrible war in Ukraine, with part of the plot taking place in Tel Aviv and another part in the city of Odessa, in Ukraine, where I was born. And this just proves the truth of the saying of one of the great directors - no matter how many films I directed in my life, in the end I only directed one film.