A FILM BY CASSIS Films & EZ Films present
And if thy right hand offends thee, cut it off and cast it from thee; for it is better that one of thy members should perish, than for thy whole body to be cast into hell." (Matthew 5:27-30) Muhammad, a rejected Palestinian boy from the fringe of society, floats through the streets of a filthy city, exposed and desolated, until he meets Gurevich; a lone rover who rides his motorcycle into the bowels of the city, through the shadows of the back alleys, sharpening the knives of butcher shops and gourmet restaurants. Stubborn and tenacious, the boy forces his way under the man`s wing. Within this hypnotic urban hell, what starts as an unstable and hesitant apprenticeship evolves into a struggle for self-control.
Simone Weil, the French philosopher and theologian, wrote in LA PESANTEUR ET LA GRÂCE that the encounter with the violent act, the iniquity, is consuming both for the aggressor and for the victim. Like mass hurtling from the attacker to the victim conveyed by the violent act. The result being that the innocent victims feel guilty without having sinned themselves. They feel defiled. Frequently they pass this mass of aggression on to their surroundings. Cases of abused children who in adulthood become abusers themselves are well known. This transmission is like a snowball rolling downhill, growing bigger and bigger. Someone has to absorb the evil energy, to put a stop to it. In Weil's Catholic perspective Jesus Christ does it. In mine it is Muhammad. He acts in a most brutal and paradoxical way: he tries to absorb this growing aggression, to break this vicious circle of abuse with his own, underdeveloped body. Being male he can do it. What I was never able to do.
WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME brings together two, seemingly contradictory elements: the carnal, erotic on the one hand and the ethereal, transcendental on the other. Muhammad, as the son of a Palestinian collaborator, is initiated into an impossible reality; he is outside his dogma as an Arab, he is excluded by his surroundings, a stranger. For him, Gurevich is not only a man, but an ideal and Muhammad seeks to hold on to this image of Gurevich at all costs. The cinematic view, particularly the cinematography, attempts to investigate the spirit-material dialectics and the idea of total devotion through Christian, Jewish and Muslim motifs. Amidst the fictitious world of the film, real events and non-professional actors flow freely. The film's dialogs, actions and nuances were all written after a deep acquaintance with the real life characters. These are their words and routines that I sought to put on screen and give voice to. Muhammad's character is based on the son of an Arab family (former collaborators with the Israeli security services) who live in the predominantly Jewish, Hatikva neighborhood, with whom I have been doing voluntary work over the past eight years. The eponymous role of the knife-grinder, played by Yuval Gurevich, is inspired by his real-life self but taken to fabricated darker regions. The film tries to set up a SPACE OF AMBIVALENCE which is beyond language and rigid definitions. The use of dialog is minimal and stands in contrast to the detailed portrayal of the minutiae of physical labor, through which the characters' inner workings forces its way out. Words are replaced with the clattering and shuddering of the machines, with the roars of the motorized grinder and the screech of the knife touching the revolving stone. Through the brutality of the noise a scream of silence echoes loudly.
Hadar Morag is a graduate of the Department of Film and Television at the Tel Aviv University where she received the Dean Award of Excellence. Her short film SILENCE made its world premiere at the Cinéfondation selection in Festival de Cannes 2008. It was later screened around the world winning numerous awards. WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME is Hadar s debut feature. The script was presented in the Crossroads co-production forum at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2011 where it won the MFI award. Currently, Hadar is completing her Masters studies in Theology and Philosophy at the Tel Aviv University. FILMOGRAPHY WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME (LAMA AZAVTANI, Israel-France 2015) 94. Venice International Film Festival, Orizzonti competition 2015. SILENCE (SHTIKA, Israel 2008) 18. Cinéfondation, Festival de Cannes 2008.
CAST MUHAMMAD DA AS Muhammad Da as, born in 1998 in Nablus, grew up in a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank. He is the eldest son in a family of 8 siblings. In recent years he s been working in Jaffa to help support his family. This is Muhammad s debut screen appearance. YUVAL GUREVICH Gurevich was born in Kibbutz Ginosar. Yuval lived for twenty years in Australia where he was part of the rock scene in Sydney and warmed bands like Friimos, Nirvana and Helmet. He then lived as a monk in India for a year finally returning to Israel a decade ago. Since, he s been making kicking rock music and sharpens knives for a living. This is Gurevich s debut screen appearance.
PRODUCTION CASSIS FILMS Cassis Films is a Tel-Aviv based production house, founded in 2011 by actress Yael Abecassis and producer Hillel Roseman. The company produces feature films & documentaries with a focus on female and social issues. Among their productions is AYA which won the Israel Academy award for best short film 2013 and was nominated to the 2014 Oscars in the best live action short film category. EZ FILMS EZ Films, based in Paris France, was founded in 2002 by Elie Meirovitz. Having its roots in the digital post production field it quickly expanded into international production and co-production. EZ Films specializes in arthouse films, both of debut and established directors. The company s films have been selected to Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, Locarno, Karlovy Vary film festivals among many others. Since 2010 the company also offers international sales and distribution services focused on film festivals.
CAST & CREW CAST: MUHAMMAD DA AS, YUVAL GUREVICH CREW: DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - SHARK DE MAYO / EDITOR - ORI BEN-DOV / CASTING - HADAR MORAG, LIMOR SHMILA, EMMANUELLE MAYER / ART DIRECTOR - EREZ GOLDFARB / MAKE-UP - ORLY RONEN / COSTUME DESIGNER - YARON ARYE / SOUND ENGINEER - OREN RAVIV / SOUND DESIGN - GIL TOREN / GRADING - YOAV RAZ / LINE PRODUCER - AVI TOV WITH THE SUPPORT OF: RABINOVICH FOUNDATION CINEMA PROJECT / LA FONDATION GAN POUR LE CINÉMA / THE ISRAEL FILM COUNCIL / ISRAEL MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORT PRODUCED BY: CASSIS FILMS & EZ FILMS
Official selection, the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, Orizzonti competition EZ Films 14 rue Mandar 75002 France Elie Meirovitz, Producer elie@ez-films.com Ray Meirovitz, Festivals ray@ez-films.com Screenings: Tuesday, 8th of September - 17:00 Cinema Hall : Sala Darsena (Official Screening) ---------------------- Wednesday, 9th of September - 15:15 Cinema Hall : Palabiennale ---------------------- Press Screening: Monday, 7th of September Cinema Hall : Sala Pasinetti - 19.30 Cinema Hall : Sala Volpi - 22.30 CASSIS Films 14 Yossef-Eliyahu St. Tel-Aviv 6407412 Israel Tel: +972-3-5250111 info@cassisfilms.com www.cassisfilms.com Israel-France 2015 94 min Hebrew & Arabic