‘Footnote’ screened at International Film Series

“Footnote,” a 2011 Israeli film directed by Joseph Cedar, will be screened Friday as part of the International Film Series.

The series is co-sponsored by the United Nations Association of Davis and International House. Doors at I-House, 10 College Park, open at 7:30 p.m. and the film begins promptly at 8 p.m.

There is no charge, but donations are accepted with gratitude to help cover the cost of DVD rental, facilities use and refreshments.

This dramatic comedy — which was nominated for a best foreign-language film Oscar in 2012 — tells the story of a great rivalry between two professor Shkolniks: father Eliezer (Schlomo Bar Aba) and son Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi), both eccentric specialists in the Talmud department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

While the son has published a lot and is widely recognized, the father has worked without recognition and bases his life’s accomplishments on one footnote. The announcement that the Israel Prize has been awarded to Professor Shkolnik seems to herald a change in fortunes, but, in fact, precipitates what critic A.O. Scott describes as “an intergenerational tzimmes (fuss) worthy of Shakespeare, Freud or the more melodramatic portions of the Hebrew Bible.”

Some scenes of a faculty committee meeting where ethical dilemmas are discussed are hilariously choreographed, a news release said. The film also features Alisa Rosen as Yehudit, Uriel’s wife, Alma Zak as Dikla, Eliezer’s wife, and Micah Lewesohn as Eliezer’s nemesis, Yehuda Grossman.