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Barren

  • Israel
  • Feature
  • 2022
  • 108 min.
  • Director(s): Mordechai Vardi
  • Producer(s): Haggai Arad, Aharon Peer, Elad Peleg

Synopsis

Married for four years, Faigi (Mili Eshet), a young Haredi married woman, has still not gotten pregnant. She wishes her husband, Naftali (Yoav Rotman) would agree to fertility treatment, but he prefers to believe their desire for a child will be answered through prayer. After enduring, against her will, a shocking and humiliating “treatment” for infertility, she finds herself shunned by Naftali, mistrusted by her in-laws, and questioning her role in the only culture she has ever known. Beautifully photographed and acted, this haunting film offers a deep and multifaceted look into an an insular community that reveals little to the outside world.

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Credits

Director(s)

Mordechai Vardi

Producer(s)

Haggai Arad, Aharon Peer, Elad Peleg

Script

Mordechai Vardi

Cinematography

Uri Ackerman

Cast

Mili Eshet, Yoav Rotman ,Ilanit Ben Yaakov, Nevo Kimchi, Gil Frank

Original Language

Hebrew

Subtitles

English, French

Festival Highlights

  • WINNER

    Next Wave Award
    Miami Jewish Film Festival
    2023
  • WINNER

    Best Feature Film Award
    Festival du Cinéma Israélien de Paris
    2023

Festival du Cinéma Israélien de Paris, France, 2023

Boca Raton Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

Charlotte Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

San Diego Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

Wesleyan University- With Filmmaker, USA, 2023

Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

Louisville Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

Miami Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

New York Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2023

International Film Festival of India, India, Official Selection, 2022

Australia Jewish Film Festival, Australia, 2022

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia, 2022

Jerusalem International Film Festival, Israel, Israeli Competition, 2022

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Reviews

  • "Vardi's tendency to put marginalized characters in front of the camera gets a sensitive and beautiful expression this time as well. "
    - Netanel Shlomovich, Haaretz