Seventeen-year-old Ariela is overshadowed by her strict military father who inflicts severe punishments as a form of discipline. When she commits a grave error that he isn’t willing to punish her for, she seeks a punishment of her own. Ariela embarks on a dark quest where she will discover a secret to her father’s past that will lead them to confront one another. In an interview Matalon said that Ariela is based on a friend from his youth who had a cruel father. “She was used to getting harsh punishments and when she didn’t get them, she would look for them herself,” he said. His father, a veteran of the 1973 (Yom Kippur) and 1967 (Six-Day) wars who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, inspired other elements of the story.
Starring Shira Haas (Unorthodox)
WINNER Jury Prize Best Actress — Festival du Cinéma Israélien de Montréal
WINNER Best Feature Film — Intl Film Fest for Children & Young Audience Schlingel
NOMINATED Jury Award Narrative Feature — Berkshire Int’l Film Festival (BIFF)
NOMINATED Grand Prix — Zlin Film Festival
NOMINATED Award of the Israeli Film Academy — Israeli Film Academy
NOMINATED Best Actress — Israeli Film Academy
NOMINATED Golden Zenith First Fiction Films — Montréal World Film Festival
NOMINATED Alice in the City Prize Young Adult — Rome Film Fest