The Ma'aleh Film School Ultra-Orthodox track presents the films of the eighth graduating women’s class - a unique glimpse at the female ultra-Orthodox world and beyond.
Child of my Old Age
Dir: Esti Friedman | 9 min | Yehiel, a twenty-year-old ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student, is the last one left at home after all sixteen of his older siblings have married. But now, complex differences between Yehiel and his father begin to surface.
The Wandering Jew
Dir: Shifra Soloveitchik | 12 min | Ever since emigrating from Atlanta to Israel, my mother couldn’t stand it here; the mentality of the people, the bureaucracy, the weather. Now, Mom is packing up her house and returning to America.
The Creator of Light and Darkness
Dir.: Tsipora Sabato | 8 min | Milka, my sister, has multiple sclerosis. Between moments of intense spiritual grace and shattering disillusionment, she tries to answer the poignant and difficult questions of her four-year-old daughter, Avital.
Foster Caring
Dir: Ofra Shatz | 11 min | After she had three children of her own, Ofra took Yossef Chaim into her home as a foster child, but he left when he was ten years old. Years later, Yossef Chaim comes back to celebrate his birthday, bringing some harsh questions about the fostering process.
Choosing You
Dir: Naama Olivan |11 min | Since their divorce two years ago, Naama has become more religious and Shosho has lived his secular life. Now, during their joint attempt to wean their daughter from her pacifier, Naama wonders whether she herself has been weaned from the dream of the home she once had.
Mother Tongue
Dir: Faigy Leibovich | 11 min | Faigy is about to give birth to her first child, but alongside the excitement, she is troubled by a dark secret that stands between her and her mother. Trying to grapple with the burden, Faigy initiates a journey that encompasses four generations and one kibbutz.
Mother of the Land
Dir: Nati Levinger | 12 min | Avital, a mother of five, sets out to establish a new farm in the hostile landscape of the Hebron hills. Facing loneliness and harsh living conditions, Avital must weigh her devotion to an ideal against the danger of losing her private and feminine self.
Worthy
Dir: Naama Noy | 12 min | Naama wants a big family. She comes from an ultra-Orthodox home, is already 31 years old, and hasn't married yet. When she begins investigating the possibility of fertility treatments, her family members find it difficult to accept her journey.