Checkout

Synopsis

The outskirts of Istanbul, 1990s. Theo, a tired American writer, stays alone in a hotel. His days are all the same: breakfast buffet, afternoon nap, people-watching in the lobby. Everything changes when Theo’s editor declares: “It’s time for you to retire.”

Theo can’t bear the thought of going home without finishing his novel and begs for more time to “find inspiration.“ But we soon realize that Theo is called Dov and not only is he Israeli, he is a spy. The “Editor“ he speaks with is his Mossad handler and the “inspiration” he’s looking for? A terrorist who must be killed.

Just as a defeated Theo checks out the following morning, a tender man who calls himself Amal checks in. Is he the arch-terrorist Israeli Intelligence has been hunting for decades? Dov is in a race against the clock to discover Amal’s true identity, and his own.

CHECKOUT is a psychadelic Mossad comedy based on the true unknown stories of Jewish American spies, inspired by the filmmakers’ own experience as Americans who joined the Israeli Special Forces, feeling the clash between American culture and Israeli machismo. Innovative in style and very rewarding for those willing to be submerged in its world, CHECKOUT is a fast paced stylized mystery, aiming to be the first authentic depiction of Mossad on film.

Developed in the prestigious Sundance Institute & produced with the Israel Film Fund.