By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

Israeli cinema owes a considerable debt of gratitude to gay filmmaker Eytan Fox. His films, including “Yossi & Jagger,” “Walk on Water” and, most recently, “The Bubble,” have consistently found audiences in both the queer and mainstream communities, thereby exposing filmgoers from all walks of life to Israeli culture on film. Three films showing at the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema, which runs from Oct. 18-28 at AMC Loews Piper’s Alley, 1608 N. Wells, and the Wilmette Theater, 1122 Central in Wilmette, are certain to appeal to fans of Fox’s work.

As impressive a debut by a writer/director as you are likely to see, Yuval Shafferman’s “Things Behind the Sun” is an unforgettable family drama. Patriarch Itzhak (Assi Dayan), the manager of an Ace Hardware store, has learned that his father, with whom he has not communicated in years, has been hospitalized and is in a coma. His wife, Smadi (Sandra Sade), has been pursuing the painting career that she put aside to raise three children and has mixed feelings about her impending gallery opening. Pushing 30, Amit (Zohar Shtrauss), their oldest child, is a pot-smoking pizza delivery guy who appears to be content with getting stoned and being the family funny man. His sister Namma (Tali Sharon), a somewhat closeted lesbian, returns home for a visit just in time to be caught up in the family drama, forcing her to conceal her own personal issues. However, when she meets and becomes involved with waitress Michal (Hilla Vidor), there is potential for change. Didush (Tess Hashiloni), the youngest child at 10, is fully aware that she is considered an “accident” by some, but, as it turns out, she is the glue that ultimately holds the crumbling family together. (Oct. 20 at Piper’s Alley, Oct. 22 at the Wilmette.)

Tomer Heymann’s documentary “Paper Dolls” is a fascinating and revealing portrait of a segment of the Israeli population that deserves to be recognized. Shortly after the period in which Palestinians were not allowed to work in Israel, there was an influx of illegal workers from all over the globe and from the Philippines specifically. Many of them came to work as caregivers to the elderly or those in poor health. A close-knit transgender group of them performed as the drag troupe The Paper Dolls on the one night a week that they had off from their care-giving duties. As much a learning experience for audience members as it is for gay filmmaker Heymann, who struggles with his own internalized trans-phobia, “Paper Dolls” also portrays the extraordinary relationships between the “dolls” and the people for whom they care, as well as their struggles to fit into a foreign land. It is recommended that viewers have tissue nearby as this film is a full-fledged tearjerker. (Oct. 21 at Piper’s Alley, Oct. 22 at the Wilmette.)

Interestingly enough, a Filipino caregiver also figures into the story in the AIDS drama “Tied Hands,” directed by Dan Wolman. Pnina (Gila Almagor) is the mother of Uzi, a former dancer of renown who is in the end stages of AIDS. Uzi has moved in with Pnina and taken on the role of his caretaker. The only source of relief for Uzi’s constant discomfort is marijuana and when he runs out, Pnina goes on a mission to find some for him. She enlists Samson, a Filipino man who also takes care of neighbor Shlomo, to keep an eye on Uzi. While Pnina is away, her niece Nelly shows and helps Samson with Uzi. Meanwhile, Pnina begins by reaching out to friends of Uzi’s, who have all been estranged from him during his illness, and her quest begins. Throughout the course of the night, Pnina is arrested, assaulted, taken to a gay club, witnesses the art of gay cruising and eventually achieves her goal. (Oct. 23 at the Wilmette.)

Limited runs:

A newly preserved 16mm print of filmmaker Tom Palazzolo’s “At Maxwell Street,” is screened Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. at Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark 

Michael Moore’s national health-care crisis documentary “Sicko” is shown Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th. Call (773) 445-3838.

A screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 film “The Trouble with Harry,” starring Shirley MacLaine, is shown at 8 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Block Cinema in the Pick-Laudati Auditorium at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, on Northwestern’s Evanston campus.

A film festival honoring the late Ingmar Bergman continues at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, with screenings of “Through A Glass Darkly (Sasom I En Spegel),” from 1961, with Harriet Andersson and Max von Sydow, Oct. 19 at 7:45 p.m. and Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. and “Wild Strawberries (Smultronstallet),” from 1957, starring Victor Sjostrom, Bibi Andersson and Ingrid Thulin, Oct. 20 at 3:15 p.m.

“Bling: A Planet Rock,” a 90-minute documentary that takes a hard-hitting look at how the flashy world of commercial hip-hop played a significant role in the 10-year civil war in Sierra Leone, West Africa, is shown Oct. 22 at  8 p.m. at Piper’s Alley, 1608 N. Wells.