The Fifth Heaven

The story of Israel's first fifty years of statehood, TKUMA brings to the screen the tragedies and joyful milestones of Israel's first half century: the ingathering of the exiles as the fledgling state becomes a haven for Jews around the word. Dramatic, personal accounts and documentary footage of the wars fought over five decades, along with rare behind-the-scenes insights into Israel's efforts to make peace. Who is a Jew Israel wrestles with its national identity. Israel's economic revolution takes the country from the orange to the computer chip in a few years. The people, the places, the spirit of Israel in its first fifty years.

Little Benjamin and Margalit are raised in the boondocks of Israel by their long-suffering mother, but they have in them something of their father, who can't stay in a place with no prospect of riches and excitement.

Rose, Flora and Yasmin were born as a triplet sixty something years ago in Alexandria, Egypt. Their well-off parents gave them names of flowers, and King Farouk of Egypt gave them his blessing. Today, in Israel, they live together in an apartment without men and without children...

Giora (Assi Dayan) runs a bar and dreams of opening a restaurant. He has made a mess of his life — his marriage is in trouble, since he is pathologically cheating on his wife; his parents (Yosef Millo and Orna Porat) have separated; and his father arrives for an extended visit from Nahariya. Giora spends time with his army buddies, recalling their experiences during the War in Lebanon. His father is undergoing a major life crisis and finds both the loneliness of the city and his son's lifestyle unappealing. As a non-Jew in a Jewish society, he feels estranged, an outsider who has never been able to adapt, and contemplates suicide. Eventually, Giora's parents decide to attempt a reconciliation, until tragedy strikes.

An American ambassador to Israel tries to bring peace to the Middle East conflict through unconventional methods, but his efforts are hampered at every turn and his personal life threatened.

Macho Lawrence 'Larry' Hammer and frailer Dean Mazzoli initially rival as U.S. Navy SEAL trainees, but become buddies in instructor chief petty officer Bosco's merciless training class. The friends date two girls, but both love Barbara, who chooses to marry Larry, as ideal father for her pre-teen son. After graduation from Basic UDT/SEAL training, they choose opposite oceans for further training. However Sadam Husein's invasion of Kuwait gets both mobilized in the same unit, with Bosco, who gets captured and tortured. Dean learns Barbara has left adulterer Larry. They mount a rescue together, taking risks even on their own side.

A reservist posted at an oupost looking over a Gazan village, overlooks and sees the happenings through his binoculars, serving as the film's vantage point

“Ma’abarot” is the first documentary project unfolding the story of the Israeli transit camps. The transit camps were a controversial enterprise, housing hundreds of thousands of new immigrants from different parts of the world, transitioning them into becoming part of the Israeli cultural tapestry. The film unravels the many stories of the camp residents, examining and discovering many surprising new details, shattering common stereotypes in the current Israeli discourse.

A four episodes documentary series that unveils one of the most controversial topics in the history of the Israeli state. Rare archival materials and testimonials of former residents tell the stories of the 'Ma'abrot' (refugee absorption camps meant to provide accommodation for the large influx of Jewish refugees in Israel in the 1950s), and the institutional discrimination towards its inhabitants — Jewish immigrants from North Africa and Middle East.