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Forgiveness

Directed by: Udi Aloni
97 Minutes, 2006, Drama

A daring hybrid of realism and fantasy, Forgiveness is a psychological thriller that explores the tragedies of the Middle East. David, a young American-Israeli, returns to Israel to join the army, only to find himself in a catatonic state after accidentally shooting a Palestinian girl while on patrol. He is committed to a mental institution which sits on the ruins of a Palestinian village. The head psychiatrist tries to cure him with medication, while another patient in the hospital, a Holocaust survivor, tries to redeem him by opening his heart to the ghost that haunts him. He returns to New York under his father’s care, believing that his horrific past is behind him until his love for a Palestinian woman brings his trauma back to the surface.

Credits

Director: Udi Aloni

Producer: David Silber

Producer: Micky Rabinovich

Producer: Lemore Syvan

Cast: Itay Tiran

Cast: Clara Khoury

Cast: Moni Moshonov

Cast: Makram Khoury

Cast: Tamara Mansour

Cast: Ruba Blal

Written by: Udi Aloni

Written by: Paul Hond

Distributor: International Film Circuit

Awards

"The film's laudable attempts to encompass the far-reaching quagmire of Jewish tribal identity, politics and psychology could have a profound effect on the audiences who do find it."

-Sara Maria Vizcarrondo, Boxoffice Magazine

"A metaphorical Israeli trauma sanctuary built over a massacred Palestinian village, and a raw yet mystical inquiry into the thin line between war and murder, and how combat multiples rather than eradicates enemies. Jewish guilt, Israeli style."

-Prarie Miller, NewsBlaze