Sweet Mud (Adama Meshuga’at)
Wednesday, March 19 – 7:30pm
Israel 2006. Director: Dror Shaul
Cast: Tomer Steinhof, Ronit Yudkevitch, Henri Garcin, Shai Avivi, Gal Zaid, Sharon Zuckerman
On a kibbutz in southern Israel in the 1970s, 12-year-old Dvir Avni enters his bar mitzvah year with the knowledge that his dearly-loved mother Miri is mentally ill. When Stephan, Miri’s Swiss boyfriend, comes to visit, he captures Dvir’s heart and makes Miri happier than she’s been in years. When Stephan proposes to Miri and states his intention of moving to the kibbutz, the future seems bright. But the “kibbutzniks,” many of whom are already resentful of a “non-contributing” guest, cast Stephan out after he has a confrontation with another resident about Dvir. This turn of events breaks Miri’s spirit and fractures her delicate status in the kibbutz, leaving Dvir to pick up the pieces. In this closed world bound by strict rules, the boy must navigate between the kibbutz ideal of equality and the stinging reality that his mother has, in effect, been abandoned by their collective community. Israeli director Dror Shaul, who was born and raised on a kibbutz, developed his semi-autobiographical script at the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Lab. Sweet Mud won four Israeli Academy Awards, the Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema — Dramatic) at Sundance, and the Glass Bear (Best Feature — 14+) at Berlin’s children’s section. Colour, 35mm, in Hebrew with English subtitles. 97 mins.
Post-screening discussion with Dr. Harry Karlinsky, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UBC. Dr. Karlinsky has a particular interest in the educational and clinical applications of film in psychiatry.
Co-sponsored by the Vancouver International Jewish Film Festival.
Frames of Mind is a monthly film event utilizing film and video to promote professional and community education on issues pertaining to mental health and illness.
For more information, see the Pacific Cinémathèque Program Guide
http://www.cinematheque.bc.ca/mar_apr_08/frames_of_mind.htm