10 Best Israeli Movies to Watch First

10 Essential Israeli Films

Ranked native cinema in Israel’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

   גט: המשפט של ויויאן אמסלם · 2014

   A woman seeking a divorce her husband refuses to grant is trapped for years in Israel's rabbinical court, where only a man can free her, in a maddening legal ordeal that plays out almost entirely in a single courtroom. A gripping, quietly furious drama.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Hebrew/French Israeli courtroom drama about marriage, religious law, and civil autonomy.

2. 

   2. Lebanon

   לבנון · 2009

   During the 1982 Lebanon War, four frightened young Israeli soldiers experience the chaos and terror of combat entirely from inside a single cramped tank, seeing the world only through its gunsight. Samuel Maoz's claustrophobic, harrowing war film.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Hebrew-language Israeli war film set almost entirely inside a tank during the 1982 Lebanon War.

3. 

   3. The Band's Visit

   ביקור התזמורת · 2007

   An Egyptian police ceremonial band, stranded overnight in the wrong Israeli desert town, is taken in by the locals, and over one quiet night strangers on opposite sides of a divide share small, unexpected moments of connection. A gentle, wistful comedy-drama.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: An Israeli Arabic/Hebrew comedy-drama about an Egyptian police band stranded in an Israeli town.

4. 

   4. Ajami

   עג'מי · 2009

   In a tense, mixed neighborhood of Jaffa where Arabs, Jews, and Christians live uneasily side by side, several interlocking stories of feud, love, and desperation spiral toward violence. A raw, mosaic-like crime drama.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Hebrew/Arabic Israeli crime drama rooted in the multiethnic Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa.

5. 

   5. Foxtrot

   פוקסטרוט · 2017

   When army officers arrive at their door, an Israeli couple's world collapses in grief over their soldier son — but the story of what happened at his desolate desert checkpoint proves stranger and more haunting than it first appears. Samuel Maoz's bold, aching drama.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Hebrew-language Israeli drama about family, military service, grief, and national anxiety.

6. 

   6. Footnote

   הערת שוליים · 2011

   A prickly rivalry between a father and son, both Talmudic scholars at a Jerusalem university, comes to a head when the overlooked elder is mistakenly awarded a coveted prize meant for his more successful son. Joseph Cedar's sharp, bittersweet drama.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Hebrew-language Israeli academic and family drama set around Jerusalem scholarship and rivalry.

7. 

   7. Tel Aviv on Fire

   תל אביב על האש · 2018

   A hapless young Palestinian gofer on a popular soap opera becomes an unlikely writer on the show after a chance encounter with an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint, who starts dictating the plot — pulling him between two demanding sides. A wry political comedy.

8. 

   8. Synonyms

   Synonymes · 2019

   A young Israeli man arrives in Paris determined to shed his nationality entirely, refusing to speak Hebrew and burying himself in French words, in a restless, provocative attempt to become someone new. Nadav Lapid's audacious, semi-autobiographical drama.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A Hebrew/French Israeli drama by Nadav Lapid about national identity, exile, and language.

9. 

   9. The Gatekeepers

   שומרי הסף · 2012

   In a series of candid interviews, six former heads of Israel's Shin Bet security agency reflect frankly on decades of counterterrorism, targeted killings, and moral compromise. A riveting, sobering documentary.

10. 

    10. Sallah Shabati

    סאלח שבתי · 1964

    A cunning, work-shy patriarch newly arrived in 1950s Israel schemes to win his big family better housing and an easier life amid the chaos of mass immigration. A beloved satirical comedy about the young nation's growing pains.