A Film by: Nir Bergman (Israel, 2010, 110 Minutes, Color, Hebrew, English subtitles, Cast: Orly Zilbershatz, Yehuda Almagor, Roee Elsberg, Rivka Gur, Yael Sgerski, Evelyn Kaplun, Limor Goldstein, Eden Luttenberg, Rony Tal, Ruslan Levchuk)
Winner of the Best Feature Film Award at the Jerusalem International Film Festival 2010 and the Sakura Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival, "Intimate Grammar" is a sensitive study of an inner journey rich in detailed observation.
A dysfunctional family and delayed puberty make life miserable for a pre-adolescent growing up in Jerusalem in the 1960''s. The film, an adaptation of David Grossman''s "The Book of Intimate Grammar", shows our hero, Aharon Kleinfeld, striving to survive his domineering mother, his anti-intellectual father and his own diminutive stature in a setting of a lower-middle-class housing development where gossip is rampant and appearances are all important.
Three years in the life of Aharon in which his soul matures but his body refuses to grow. Perhaps, one of his glands is dormant, or perhaps he is afraid of growing up and becoming like his parents. Or maybe, he is just a late bloomer, in need of a little more time. But nobody has the time to wait. Betrayed by his family, by his best friend and his beloved, lonely in his small body, but aware of his maturing soul, he realizes something must be done.
AWARDS, FESTIVALS & SCREENNINGS
Jerusalem International Film Festival 2010 - Winner of the Best Feature Film Award Tokyo International Film Festival - Winner of the Sakura Grand Prix Asia Pacific Screen Awards - Nominated Best Screenplay Berlin International Film Festival 2011 Sofia International Film Festival 2011 Miami International Film Festival 2011 Israeli Film Festival, Paris, France 2011 Filmisreal - Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2011 Stockholm Jewish Film Festival, Sweden 2011 Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Winnipeg International Jewish Film Festival 2011 Montreal Israeli Film Festival 2011 São Paulo Jewish Film Festival 2011 Vancouver Jewish Film Festival 2011 Denver Festival - New Israeli Series JCC of Houston Cleveland Jewish FilmFest San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival Washington Jewish Film Festival Calgary Jewish Film Festival Chicago Jewish Film Festival Boston Jewish Film Festival Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival Israeli Film Festival Philadelphia, February 2012 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, February 2012 Austin Jewish Film Festival, February 2012 East Bay Jewish Film Festival, California, March 2012 Wesleyan University, CT, March 2012 Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival, May 2012
