Kino International hasannounced that Israeli director Amos Gitai's drama Kedma will receive its US premiere on Jan 23, 2003, as theclosing film of the 12th Annual New York Jewish Film Festival. This will befollowed by a two-week run at Makor from Jan 27-Feb 6, where the picture willplay twice a day from Monday to Thursday only.

Set days before the creationof the state of Israel in 1948 and before the end of the British mandate, Kedma tells the story of Holocaust survivors headingtowards Palestine on the European cargo freighter Kedma. As the immigrants take their first steps onto theshore, British soldiers rush in to arrest them, forcing men, children and womento disperse and escape towards nearby hills. It was shot by acclaimedcinematographer Yorgos Arvanitis, whose credits include Fat Girl and Total Eclipse. Kedmareceived a Palme d'Or nomination at this year's Cannes FilmFestival.

Gitai was born in Israel in1950 and has directed more than 30 films, among them Kippur and the recent Fictional Cities trilogy of Devarim,Yom Yom and Kadosh. He shared this year's UNESCO Award at theVenice Film Festival for the collaborative 9/11 documentary, 11/09/01 -September 11.