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Hadas ben Aroya

ActorDirector
Hadas Ben Aroya is an emerging Israeli filmmaker and actress known for her distinctive voice in independent cinema. She garnered attention with her debut feature film "People That Are Not Me" (2016), in which she not only directed but also played the lead role. The film was well-received and won several awards, including the Best First Feature Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival. Ben Aroya's work often explores themes of intimacy, self-discovery, and the complexities of modern relationships. Her narrative style is characterized by its raw authenticity and deeply personal storytelling.

Films

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Love Me!

Love Me!

2014 | 83 min | Independent

Featuring Lilli Meinhardt, Christian Ehrich, Mumblecore icon Axel Ranisch and indie star Peter Trabner. “Fresh take on the Bildungsroman.“ (Jury Decision Tirana International Film Festival) Produced with mere 4,000 EUR (by a production company whose name translates to “sponsored by Grandma”), LOVE ME! is the story of Sarah who chucks her super expensive Macbook out of the window when sex with her best friend doesn't lead to declarations of true love. Sarah's rude and crude exterior masks a deep-rooted ...

The Sound of Unexpected Death

The Sound of Unexpected Death

2019 | 30 min | Independent

A young, frustrated couple are on their way home from a night out. Three friends are in the middle of birthday celebrations at a nightclub. A drunk young man crawls into bed with his girlfriend. A young woman decided to stay home, chatting with a guy on Facebook. Two parents put their children to bed. All of them hear sirens and loud noises in the background. In the end, a policeman walks into the nightclub; however, nothing could prepare him for the scene that greets him inside.

Pantheress

Pantheress

2016 | 22 min | Drama

Her former life has been taken over by strange people. Detached from life, she strolls through the city and tries desperately to find a new start. But can you get something back that has long since disappeared? Winner of best debut at the New Renaissance Film Festival Amsterdam, Lydia-Maria Emrich's PANTHERESS tosses the protagonist from her old life into uncharted waters.

Away You Go

Away You Go

2018 | 76 min | Drama

Is growing up and becoming an adult easy? Charlie finds it damn hard to figure out how to separate the expectations of those around her from her own needs. Charlie is not at all sure: Is it so wonderful to have a baby, or will her own needs disappear in the process? Charlie's job as a teacher is very demanding, and things aren't really going well with Marco at the moment. At the beginning everything was so wonderfully easy and spontaneous... Philipp Eichholtz drama AWAY YOU GO, which premiered ...

Absurdistan

Absurdistan

2008 | 87 min | Comedy

An allegorical comedy about two childhood sweethearts destined for one another until the women of their village go on a sex strike that threatens the couple's first night of love. Veit Helmer tells a lovably absurd story full of passion and fantasy. The young lovers Aya and Temelko seem destined for each other. They await their honeymoon, which is determined by Aya's grandmother and the stars. Finally, their speical night is to commence with a communal bath. But this doesn't happen, because the ...

Beatrix

Beatrix

2021 | 95 min | Documentary

The film follows a young woman named Beatrix, played by Eva Sommer, as she spends time alone in a house whose previous tenant was older. With no context given, the film's plot revolves around the ordinariness of Beatrix's activities, from taking care of the house to feeding a stray cat. However, it is clear that Beatrix is going through something significant in her life, which is painful and transitional, although the viewer never knows what it is. The non-professional actress Sommer brings a sense ...

My Partners

My Partners

2024 | 97 min | Documentary

MY PARTNERS is an intimate documentary portrait of people searching for ways to live and love beyond conventional monogamy. Observing several polyamorous relationships, the film explores desire, tenderness and the ongoing challenge of making space for more than two people within a partnership. Kay and Beate have been married for more than 30 years, yet their summer in the Baltic countryside is shaped by a new openness. That openness includes Marianne, who lives in Tallinn with her two children and ...

Brother

Brother

2014 | 27 min | Crime

Lukasz (24) wants to get out of crisis mode. He yearns for recognition and loyalty. As tough thug for Hamburg's main man, he believes he's found it all. While Lukasz's rise up the ladder begins to take shape, the death of their mother brings his little brother Kamil (13) to Lukasz's front door after a long break in contact. Lukasz is forced to choose between his criminal substitute family and his brother. Jarek Dudas Kiez drama BROTHER is his graduation film from the International Film School ...

The Portuguese Nun

The Portuguese Nun

2009 | 121 min | Drama

A young French actress who is in Lisbon to shoot a movie is intrigued by a nun she sees kneeling in the chapel where she is filming. "THE PORTUGUESE NUN has both wit and feeling. The director explores the collision of eros and religion in a way that is both cerebral and sensual." (New York Times) Left to her own devices by a director (Green himself), Julie wanders the streets and has encounters with a series of male archetypes including a needy child (Mozos), a faithless husband (Michaux) and a ...

Not Yet Over

Not Yet Over

2016 | 63 min | Independent

The film follows various women who strive for medical and social reproductive freedoms and premiered at the International Queer Film Festival Hamburg. While Germany wrestles with abortion laws from the Nazi era, migrant women in this country often struggle with the law and the health care system for their own sexual self-determination. The filmmakers create a condensed setting with four women. One wants a child through artificial insemination, the other wants an abortion, the third wants to become ...