Thirteen year old Aharon Ninio, the only child of parents who are unable to conceive again, is determined to win the honor of carrying the Torah scrolls on Simhat Torah.
Encirclements
A Film by: Lee Gilat
(Israel, 2014, 98 min, Hebrew, English subtitles, Cast: Lior Ashkenazi, Asi Levi, Agam Ozalvo, Uri Gabriel)
Thirteen year old Aharon Ninio, the only child of parents who are unable to conceive again, is determined to win the honor of carrying the Torah scrolls on Simhat Torah.
The belief that he who carries the Torah may ask God for anything on behalf of others can elevate Aharon's status in the neighborhood and win his distant father's approval and love. But after Aharon wins the honor, his achievement brings ancient tensions to the surface. This tension becomes unbearable and on the night of the honorary round, the Torah slips from his hands and shatters on the ground and the symbolic, happy ceremony becomes a life-threatening struggle.
“Encirclements” uses cultural and religious rituals to depict the kind of private ceremonial traditions that exist in every family - all within the tumultuous and humor-filled life of people who are on the margins of society.
FESTIVALS & SCREENINGS
• Selected for the prestigious Berlinale Talent Campus
• Toronto JFF 2015
• Australia JFF 2015
• Chicago Festival for Israeli Cinema 2015
• Silicon Valley JFF 2015
• Hong Kong JFF 2015
• Miami JFF 2015
• Boston JFF 2015
• Cleveland JFF 2015
• Palm Beach JFF 2015
• San Diego JFF 2015
• UK JFF 2015
• Zagreb JFF 2015
• Washington JFF 2016
• Miami JFF 2016
• YESH Zurich JFF 2016
• St. Louis JFF 2016
• Rochester JFF 2016
• UK JFF in Montreal 2016
• Singapore JFF 2016
• Sephardi JFF, LA 2016
• Avalon Theater, DC 2016
• Northern NJ JFF 2016
• Vienna JFF 2016
• Sephardi JFF, LA 2017
• Boca Raton JFF, 2017
• Laissez Passer 2017
• Caracas JFF, 2017