Jewboy

Colour, 35 mm
Australia, 2005, 52 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

Twenty-one-year-old Yuri Kovner arrives in Sydney to attend the funeral of his father who has died unexpectedly. A fairly ordinary story? Perhaps - if Yuri’s father hadn’t been a rabbi and he, himself, hadn’t been in Israel for a year preparing to follow in his footsteps. For Yuri, the funeral preparations in the heart of an orthodox Jewish family, headed by grandma Minnie, turn into a nightmare. Uneasiness, awkwardness and uncertainty all contribute to Yuri’s attempt to flee the environment in which he was raised. He finds work as a taxi driver and, when he meets carwash employee Sarita, who comes from Fiji, his initially clear future begins to take another direction. However, Yuri’s faith makes it absolutely unacceptable that he continue seeing Sarita - but she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. Will the hero of this intimate drama find his own path in life? And will his relatives be able to tolerate it? The film was screened in the Un certain regard section at this year’s Cannes IFF.

About the director

Tony Krawitz (b. 1967, Australia) shot his first short film, Zero (1997), while studying at Sydney’s University of Technology. An interest in film led him to study directing at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS); there he did well with other short films: Customs (2001), Together in the Middle of Nowhere (2001) and Into the Night (2002). His next short film, Unit 52 (2002), drew the attention of both audiences and critics, receiving praise at Cannes. In 2001 he was one of Ray Lawrence’s assistants on the psychological drama Lantana. He co-directed the minute-long installation film Paraparaparadise (2001) for the Australian Centre of the Moving Image in Melbourne. After graduation he began making music videos and commercials, and in 2004 he shot his directorial debut, Jewboy, based on his own script.