Noga

Noga finds Israeli musician Noga Erez on the rise: her debut Atlantic Records album is done, and her live shows—dense, kinetic sets she performs alongside partner and collaborator Ori Rousso—are drawing international audiences. Directors Jono and Benji Bergmann stay close, tracking the rhythms of touring and recording while observing a relationship that must navigate fame, creative partnership and private life all at once. As the couple finds their footing, a question about whether to have a child comes into focus. Then after October 7, 2023, the plans change. 

Shot in an observational style with remarkable access, Noga moves between the scale of Erez’s live performances and quieter moments with Rousso in the studio, on the road and at home, working through the kinds of decisions that don’t stay neatly in one category. October 7 reshapes the film’s second half, as canceled shows and public scrutiny force Erez to reckon with the gap between how she sees herself as an artist and how the world sees her. —Johanna Gustin

West Coast Premiere

Benji & Jono Bergmann are writers, directors, producers, and brothers based between Vienna and NYC. They co-founded BABKA in 2019, a company focused on real stories—both scripted and non-scripted. Their debut feature Mau, a documentary about design visionary Bruce Mau, premiered at SXSW 2021 and was released theatrically by Greenwich Entertainment. Camp Confidential, their animated Netflix Original short documentary about a secret U.S. military camp during WWII, was nominated for two Emmys, the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, and made the shortlist for the 2022 Academy Awards. Their film Wirecard, about Germany’s most spectacular financial fraud, premiered at CPH:DOX and was produced for SKY/ARD/NBC. It was nominated for multiple awards across Europe, with the brothers receiving the Blue Panther for best directors.