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Requiem for a Whale

  • Israel
  • Short Documentary
  • 2022
  • 14 min.
  • Director(s): Ido Weisman
  • Producer(s): Ido Weisman

Synopsis

On a stormy night in early 2021, a whale’s body washed ashore at Nitzanim beach in Israel. Over the documentation of the encounter between people and the carcass, we hear the voices of several witnesses who were present at the rare occurrence.
From the fabric of responses, a collective experience shines, regarding the dialogue between life and death.

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Credits

Director(s)

Ido Weisman

Producer(s)

Ido Weisman

Script

Ido Weisman, Alex Khosid

Cinematography

Ido Weisman

Editor

Alex Khosid

Cast

Tal Yeshua Bar-Moshe, Asaf Kamar, Lotfy Alsayeed

Original Language

Hebrew

Subtitles

English, Hebrew

Sound Designer

Dan Ben Haim

Produced with the help of

The Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with the Heschel Center for Sustainability

Festival Highlights

  • WINNER

    Second Award for Best Students Film
    Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival
    2022
  • WINNER

    Best Cinematography for Students Film
    Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival
    2022
  • WINNER

    Best Student Documentary Award
    IDA Documentary Awards
    2022
  • WINNER

    Best Student Film Award
    Israeli Documentary Forum Awards
    2022
  • WINNER

    Best Student Documentary Short Film
    Atlanta Docufest
    2023
  • WINNER

    Special Mention, Film Critics Association
    Tel Aviv International Students Film Festival
    2023
  • WINNER

    Best Short Film
    Galil Film Festival
    2023

Atlanta Docufest, USA, 2023

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, USA, 2023

Santa Barbara International Film Festival, USA, 2023

FipaDOC, France, 2023

DOC NYC, USA, Shorts Competition, 2022

Brisbane International Film Festival, Australia, Shorts Competition, 2022

Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival, Israel, Students Competition, 2022

Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, USA, 2023

Short Shorts Film Festival, Japan, 2023

CinemAmbiente – Environmental Film Festival, Italy, 2023

Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, Australia, 2023

Salem Film Festival, USA, 2023

Signes de Nuit, Paris, 2023

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Reviews

  • "For its refreshing and creative cinematic vision, its concise editing and for its sensitive and thoughtful directing. The film captures its spectators and draws them into a moving and multi-dimensional story of immigration and exile experienced twice over, and of a protagonist that wholeheartedly and against all odds insists on believing in his dream"
    - Docaviv 2022 jury's justification for Second Award for Best Student Film
  • "For its concise and intelligent cinematography that grant the film a poetic essence by adding depth and meaning to its story"
    - Docaviv 2022 jury's justification for Second Award for Best Student Film
  • "A smart and poetic documentary that seeks to explore the consequences of an extraordinary event on those who witnessed it, including the director himself."
    - Tel Aviv International Students Film Festival 2023 - Jury Motivation