Half a Date

Synopsis

Tzvi is an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student who arrives at the recruitment office to receive a deferral from military service. Tangled in a bureaucratic mess that threatens his status as a yeshiva student, he encounters Carmel, a soldier his age, who is supposed to handle his paperwork. Alone together in the office, their unofficial connection is a daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper, which they solve together. For a brief moment, they unknowingly realize that in a parallel reality, they could have been the best of friends. Maybe even a couple. 

Written and directed by Eden Abitbol, a notable voice in Haredi culture and a screenwriter who worked on the hit TV show “The New Black,” the charming short delves into a chance encounter that transcends societal divides.