YOLKI PALKI

Alexander Gentelev | Israel 2007 | 91 Min. | OmeU

Through the stories of Russian immigrants scattered across Israel and outside of it – from a simple kibbutz in the valley to a lavish office atop a Moscow skyscraper – the image of the last great wave of Russian immigration is unfolded in all its facets.

The complexity underlying the stereotypes attached to the Russian immigration, the difficulties, the achievements and the failures, are at the center of this film that painfully confronts the question of what it means to be Israeli and what chance does a public of over a million people have of receiving the stamp of “Israeliness” – a question that has accompanied the director since his arrival in Israel.