In this intimate documentary (winner of Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2016 Berlinale), a 40-year-old gay Israeli man living with HIV in London must confront his looming fears and attempt to resolve long-simmering differences with his conservative Jewish family. When we first meet the amiable yet emotionally fragile Saar Maoz, he’s living alone comfortably and leading a busy life as a member of the London Gay Men’s Chorus while working full-time at an Apple Store. Raised by a strict military father and steadfast mother, he was forced to leave the family’s kibbutz when his sexual orientation became known. Now, after 20 years’ estrangement and a set of emotional and physical setbacks, Saar and his remarkably candid parents and siblings attempt to navigate through profound cultural, religious, and personal conflicts. The film presents no villains or victims, asking us instead to step deep inside a close-knit but divided family, each member committed in his or her own way to honoring firmly held moral values while pained by the sacrifices that entails. With restrained yet assured hands, the filmmakers—brothers Tomer and Barak Heymann, makers of Paper Dolls (Frameline30) and The Queen Has No Crown (Frameline35)—shade in every brutally honest hue of this complicated dynamic. The film’s universal message of acceptance through understanding is sure to resonate, as will the rousing musical scenes (including lively choral versions of “Go West” and “Holding Out for a Hero”).

— Chris Keech

Co-presented by:

Congregation Sha'ar Zahav

Keshet