Eyes wide open

  • Tu n'aimeras point (Einaym Pkuhot)
Genre : Drama
Type : Fiction
Original title : Eynaim pkohot (Eyes Wide Open)
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv
Year of production : 2009
Format : Feature
Running time : 100 (in minutes)

Aaron is a respectable butcher and a member of the Ultra Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem. A harsh rainstorm brings to his shop a handsome Yeshiva student named Ezri. Aaron takes pity on Ezri's and decides to be his patron. He hires him to work in his butcher shop, teaches Ezri the craft of slaughtering, and houses him in the shop's back room. One day, when they go to a remote "Mikve" (a scared ritual bath) an intimate moment occurs between them, and they make love. From this moment onwards, Aaron knows no peace. He develops deep feelings towards Ezri, and he slowly neglects his family. However, he feels immense guilt and torment which he expresses in physical rituals of self-punishment. When his wife reveals this affair, he is put under the enormous pressure and reaches a decision to commit an irreversible act...

ISRAEL, FRANCE, GERMANY
2009, 35mm, colour, 100'
Version: Hebrew, Yiddish, English - Sub: Ita

Director: Haim Tabakman
Screenplay: Merav Doster
Cinematography: Axel Schneppat
Editing: Sandro Aguilar, Rodolfo Wedellesn
Music: Nathaniel Mechaly
Cast: Zohar Strauss, Ran Danker, Ravit Rozen, Tzahi Grad

Prizes and selections:
MedFilm Festival, Roma
Winner Eros and Psyche Award 2009
for its direction and film's great formal style which challenge an unpredictable promiscuity between religion and sex.

Festival de Cannes 2009 (Un Certain Regard), Toronto International Film Festival 2009 (Contemporary World Cinema)

Production:Pimpa Film Productions (Tel Aviv)
Co-Production: Satori Productions (Paris), Riva Filmproduktion (Hamburg)
Distribution: Films Distribution (Paris)

_____________________

Aaron è un rispettabile macellaio della comunità ultraortodossa di Gerusalemme, sposato con Rivka e padre di quattro figli. Durante una giornata di pioggia, conosce Ezri, giovane e bello studente della Yeshiva, rimasto solo e senza casa. Aaron si appassiona alla sua storia, gli dà lavoro e lo ospita nel retro del suo negozio. Fino ad innamorarsi di lui, durante il "Mikve", un bagno di purificazione rituale. Da quel momento la sua vita comincia a cambiare: Aaron rifiuta la famiglia, i vincoli imposti dal proprio gruppo sociale. Si dedica anima e corpo all'amore per Ezri. Ma sensi di colpa, tormenti interiori ed esteriori e pressioni psicologiche lo spingeranno ad una inevitabile decisione.

ISRAEL, FRANCE, GERMANY
2009, 35mm, colour, 100'
Vers: Ebraico, Yiddish, Inglese - Sub: Ita

Regia: Haim Tabakman
Sceneggiatura: Merav Doster
Fotografia: Axel Schneppat
Montaggio: Dov Stoyer
Musiche: Nathaniel Mechaly
Cast: Zohar Strauss, Ran Danker, Ravit Rozen, Tzahi Grad

Produzione: Pimpa Film Productions

Co-Produzione: Satori Productions (Paris), Riva Filmproduktion (Hamburg)
Distribuzione: Films Distribution (Paris)


Premi e selezioni:

2009 | MedFilm Festival | ROMA, Italy | 7/15 nov
* Concorso Ufficiale
* Vincitore Premio Amore e Psiche 2009
per la regia e la grande qualità formale del film che affronta un'imprevedibile promiscuità tra religione e sesso

2009 | Festival de Cannes 2009
* Un Certain Regard)

2009 | Toronto International Film Festival 2009
* Contemporary World Cinema)

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