
Ahed’s Knee
59th New York Film Festival
September 24 - October 10, 2021
A film of radical style and splenetic anger, Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid’s shattering follow-up to his bat-out-of-hell Synonyms accompanies a celebrated but increasingly dissociated director to a small town in the desert region of Arava for a screening of his latest film; here he descends into a spiral of rage aimed at the Israeli government.
For a limited time, watch Nadav Lapid’s The Kindergarten Teacher (2014), and Synonyms (2019), available for purchase in the FLC Virtual Cinema through April 1.
Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid shows no signs of slowing down in this shattering follow-up to his bat-out-of-hell Synonyms (NYFF57). A film of radical style and splenetic anger, Ahed’s Knee accompanies a celebrated but increasingly dissociated director (Avshalom Pollak) to a small town in the desert region of Arava for a screening of his latest film. Already anguished by the news of his mother’s fatal illness (Lapid’s film was made soon after the death of his own mother, who had worked as his editor for many years), he grows frustrated with a speech-restricting form he is encouraged to sign by a local Ministry of Culture worker (Nur Fibak). The confrontation ultimately sends him into a spiral of rage aimed at what he perceives as the censorship, hypocrisy, and violence of the Israeli government. This boldly shot and conceived work, which won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, feels as though it has welled up from the depths of its maker’s soul. A Kino Lorber release. A NYFF59 Main Slate selection.
Introducing Matinee Pricing! All tickets are $10 for screenings before 3pm.
Enjoy 10% off beer and wine at Indie Food and Wine when presenting your ticket (digital or printed) for FLC programming. Offer must be redeemed the same day of screening. All refreshments and food from Indie can now be enjoyed during EBM screenings!
Astonishing... Quite possibly brilliant.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety
Lapid is Israel’s most vital auteur.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire
A work of robust intellectual energy and raging conflict.
—Jason Solomons , The Wrap
Beautiful, hallucinatory shots of the Arava and splinters of comic absurdism.
—A. O. Scott, The New York Times
Blistering cri de coeur from a provocative auteur.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter




Read More
Rose of Nevada Director Mark Jenkin on His New Sci-Fi Tinged Tale
On the latest episode of FLC Luminaries, our video series that spotlights talent at all levels of the filmmaking process who uplift the art and craft of cinema, Rose of Nevada director Mark Jenkin discusses his sci-fi-tinged tale of dislocation and regeneration.
Kamal Aljafari on With Hasan in Gaza and ‘The Camera of the Dispossessed’
Our 63rd New York Film Festival Talks featured a special conversation with With Hasan in Gaza director Kamal Aljafari, moderated by Film Comment editor Devika Girish.
Lucrecia Martel on Our Land (Nuestra Tierra), the Filmmaker’s First Feature Documentary
On the latest episode of FLC Luminaries, our video series that spotlights talent at all levels of the filmmaking process who uplift the art and craft of cinema, Our Land (Nuestra Tierra) director Lucrecia Martel discusses her expansive and enlightening first feature documentary.


