''Madam Yankelova's Fine Literature Club'' (Hebrew: המועדון לספרות יפה של הגברת ינקלובה, tr. ''HaMo'adon LeSifrut Yaffa Shel HaGveret Yankelova'') is a 90-minute 2017 Israeli Hebrew-language independent dramatic art film directed by Guilhad Emilio Schenker, at his directorial debut.
Synopsis
The film, which premiered on 6 September 2017 as part of (general release followed on 7 June 2018), was screened at the 2017
Haifa International Film Festival
The Haifa International Film Festival () is an annual film festival that takes place every autumn (between late September and late October), during the week-long holiday of Sukkot, in Haifa, Israel.
History
The festival was inaugurated in 1983 an ...
, at the 2017 , at
Sderot Cinematheque
Sderot Cinematheque is a film archive in Sderot, Israel.
The Sderot Cinematheque was established in December 1999. It was founded by Haim Bresheeth in cooperation with Sapir Academic College and Sderot mayor Eli Moyal.
The Sderot Cinematheque, ...
's 2017 , at
Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas, focused on fantasy, horror, sci-fi, action and cult films, the largest genre festival in the United States. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse.
Lisa Dreyer ...
on 22 September 2018, at the 2018
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
, and at the 2018
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.Channel 10, B Communications's Bezeq's
Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US
* Young Ep ...
Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality
Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality () is the arm of local government responsible for the administration of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv-Yafo. Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality handles such municipal affairs as education, culture, social welfare, infrastructure, ...
's , the Ministry of Culture and Sport's Israel Film Council, Mifal HaPayis's , and the , was produced by , was scored by (with the music being performed by the , conducted by ), and has won the and the at the
Ophir Award
The Ophir Awards (), full name: the Israel Film Academy Award, sometimes also known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards, are film awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Tele ...
s (where it was also nominated for the , the , the , and the ). It follows Sophie Kafry (Keren Mor), a librarian and member of a women-only bookclub founded by Madam Yankelova (
Lea Koenig
Lea Koenig (or Lia Koenig; ; born Lea Kamien; 30 November 1929) is an Israeli actress, nicknamed ''The First ...
) and managed by Razia Harari (), which meets once a week inside a Gothic castle to discuss works such as
Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon (; August 8, 1887 – February 17, 1970) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Israeli novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew literature. In Hebrew, he is known by the pseudonym Shai A ...
's 1943 short story ' and
Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek (; born 20 October 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She is one of the most decorated authors to write in German and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices ...
's 1983 novel '' The Piano Teacher''. All members are required to attend in the company of a man, whereupon said men are judged according to their attractiveness, and the member whose man has received the highest marks wins a trophy. The men, at the end of each meeting, are murdered and turned into hotdogs. Having already won ninety-nine such trophies, Sophie finds it difficult to win the one-hundredth trophy, which shall promise her a seat at the Lordesses's House, the highest status in the club's stratification system. Should she fail to do so, she might find herself demoted into a cleaning lady, together with her friend, Hana (Hana Laszlo), who tells Sophie she plans on escaping to Paris and who invites her to join. One day, Joseph (
Yiftach Klein
Yiftach Klein (; born 28 September 1972) is an Israeli actor. He has been nominated for two Ophir Awards for Best Supporting Actor in 2007 for ''Noodle'' and for Best Actor in 2011 for his role in ''Policeman''.Tuvia Tzafir
Tuvia Tzafir (; born 31 December 1945) is an Israeli actor, comedian, television presenter and singer.
Biography
Tzafir was born in Tel Aviv as Tuvia Kozlowski. He grew up in a traditionalist home of Jewish immigrants from Poland who lived in ...
) in order to mobilize funds so as to finance her escaping abroad plans, while Joseph, who by then is revealed to be an undercover policeman, finds suspicious photographs in Sophie's apartment and asks the police archivist () for information. The archivist discovers a connection between the club and Joseph's father, who has been missing ever since he was a child. Nevertheless, when Sohpie asks Joseph not to attend the weekly club meeting, he insists on coming there nonetheless. During that meeting, Sophie is declared as the winner, however, in order to win the trophy, she must murder Joseph. Instead, she decides to murder Razia and to take Lola as a hostage, in order to free Joseph. Sophie and Joseph run away, while Lola chases them, and during that chase, Lola shoots them, yet the bullet hits a flammable barrel, an action that causes the castle to go on fire. Sophie and Joseph survive this blast and run away on Joseph's motorcycle. The has rated this film as being appropriate for viewers aged fourteen and above. It is estimated that only around 10,300 tickets for this film have been sold domestically.