Wake Up, Grandson

Synopsis

Are our lives made up of fragments that ultimately become a unified album of memories, woven together into a complete life story? Do heritage and roots hold significance? Renowned filmmaker Ranen Schor, embarks on a journey in the footsteps of his grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Heller, a hero of the 1948 Battle of Safed—a profoundly spiritual place. It’s a tale of contrasts: Spiritual vs. Secular, Faith vs. Film, Holy Safed vs. Hedonistic Tel Aviv.

In a 25-year exchange of letters between grandfather and grandson, the elder implores the young filmmaker to abandon Truffaut and embrace tradition, to carry on his legacy. When Schorr resists, his grandfather makes an unexpected final request: “Make a film about me.” 

The film, with its docu-autobiographical elements, celebrates impossible connections, weaving a unique cinematic collage that defies time, aiming to rewrite it and offer a chance for redemption. Through a correspondence with his grandfather, Schor reflects on pivotal stages of his life, capturing the essence of Israeli identity as it collides with tradition and the ‘old world.

The film has already received glowing praise from some of the most respected figures in cinema, including Wim Wenders, who described the film as “a crash course on Israeli history,” Others described the film as “terrific: profound, moving, educational, sometimes hilarious, and occasionally shocking… But above all, moving.”