A group of old friends. A promise to share secrets. And a rare lunar eclipse. These are the ingredients for a lively evening—and for this scintillating ensemble piece from beloved Israeli actor Lior Ashkenazi (Karaoke, BJFF 2022, Big Bad Wolves, BJFF 2013) in his directorial debut. In Perfect Strangers, seven lifelong Israeli friends (including Guy Amir and Hanan Savyon, Forgiveness, BIFF 2020) meet for a dinner party. For fun, they agree to share every text message, call, or notification that appears on their phones. Begun on a whim, the game soon turns uncomfortable, with each of the seven friends squirming to explain the many truths and secrets they’ve so carefully concealed and that are suddenly laid bare.

Followed by a live conversation with Director Lior Ashkenazi present on Zoom, moderated in-person by Wesleyan University Visiting Professor and Israeli film critic, Avner Shavit.