a film by Ran Slavin
81 minutes. Mystery, Noir, thriller
Languages: Japanese, English, Hebrew Subtitles: English
Call for Dreams (2018), written and directed by Ran Slavin, presents itself as a mystery crime drama only to subvert that expectation. The film centers on dream interpretation, using the investigation as a framing device rather than a narrative goal.
Set between Tokyo and Tel Aviv, it follows Eko, a woman who places an ad inviting strangers to call and describe their dreams, then visits some to enact fragments of what they recount. Meanwhile, an investigator in Tel Aviv listens to recorded dreams connected to a murder case. The apparent links between events dissolve, leaving an ambiguous space where dreams, memories, and reality blur.
The crime element is a decoy—an entry point for the viewer, quickly overtaken by drifting, cyclical sequences that mirror the logic of dreaming rather than detection. Scenes fold back on themselves, and resolution is deliberately withheld.
Through hypnotic cinematography, immersive sound, and a rain-soaked Tokyo, the film prioritizes sensation over explanation. The investigation never stabilizes; meaning is provisional. Call for Dreams reframes cinema itself as a dream apparatus—genre is invoked, then quietly abandoned, leaving the viewer suspended between perception and projection.
Film credits:
Director, writer, editor, colorist, art director : Ran Slavin
Producer: Ronen Ben Tal
Executive Producers: Ran Slavin, Tomer Almagor
Associate producer: Merav Ktorza
Produced by Plan B Productions and Nocturnal Rainbow Films
Cinematography: Maayan Blech, Yuri Gershberg, Neil Cohen, Ran Slavin
Cast: Mami Shimazaki, Yehezkel Lazarov, Yuval Robichek, Oleg Levin, Olga Kurkulina
Harue Masuda, Takanori Kawaharada, Akila Kawamura, Chiaki Horita, Tsuneyoshi Ichihara, Chen Wei Lee, Mariko Kakizaki, Roee Adar
Distribution: Indie Rights
Duration: 81 minutes
Languages: Japanese, English, Hebrew
Available subtitles: English, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, Greek
More info:
ranslavin.com/callfordreams/
imdb page
Festivals:
Mitspe Ramon Film Festival, Israel 2022
Picknic Film Festival, Cantbaria, Spain 2022
OTB film awards Miami, winner best experimental 2022
Ravenna Nightmare Film Festival, Italy 2021
Deep Focus Film Festival, Brooklyn, NY 2021 (honorable mention)
Lift Off Film Festival 2021. London
2nd Dreamers Of Dreams Film Festival 2020 UK (winner best of the festival award)
3rd UAF Urban Audio-Visual Film Festival, Lisbon 2020.
Uk Film Review Film Festival, 2020, UK
10th Cinefantasy International Fantastic Film Festival São Paulo, Brazil
7th FICLAPAZ – La Paz International Film Festival, Bolivia (winner best narrative fiction)
16th ADAF Athens Digital Arts Festival, Greece
9th AVIFF Cannes Art Film Festival, France (winner-online award)
59th Ficci, The International Film Festival of Cartagena De Indias, Cartagena, Colombia
22nd Shanghai International Film Festival (market)
1st Through the Looking Glass International Film Festival Milano
12th Cinalfama Film Festival, Lisbon
7th Asian Film Festival Barcelona, Official Panorama Section,
23rd UK Jewish Film Festival, London
17th Mindanao Film Festival, Philippines
9th Nunes International Film Festival, Barcelona
7th Cine Kasimanwa, The western Visayas Film Festival, Philippines
34th Haifa International Film Festival, Israel
22nd POFF Black Nights Film Festival at Rebels With a Cause Competition, Tallinn – Estonia
26th Camerimage Film Festival at the Directors Debut & Cinematographers Debut Competitions, Poland
4th Utopia Film Festival, official selection (winner The Golem Award for Best Feature-Length Film) Israel
13th Ecu The European Independent Film Festival (winner best actress)
17th Cinema South International Film Festival, Israel
Academy nomination (Ophir Awards) best production design, Israel
