Ten of Europe's Most Important Films Ever Coming to an Israeli Cinematheque Near You

Starting next week, the cinematheques around the country will begin showing 10 important films produced in various European countries from the 1930s to 1980s. The movies are part of "Another Look: Restored European Film Project," undertaken by 10 foreign embassies in Israel, together with the European Union. Italy, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Britain, Ireland, Portugal, Denmark, Poland and Spain will each present a restored version of one of its outstanding films.

Among the films to be show are the Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira's first feature, "Aniki Bobo" ( 1942 ); Jiri Menzel's 1966 picture "Closely Watched Trains" from the Czech Republic, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture; Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi's "Camouflage" (1977 ); Luchino Visconti's "Senso" from Italy (1954) ; and Danish filmmaker Erik Balling's "Qivitok" (1956 ) . Other directors whose films will be screened include Spain's Victor Erice, Belgium's Jacques Feyder and Germany's Rainier Simon.

The screenings will start January 10 in the cinematheques in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa and feature Hebrew subtitles. Dan Chyutin, artistic director of the festival, chose the films to represent different facets of Europe's cultural heritage and the modern history of the continent.