Israeli-German film The Cakemaker was presented today as part of the Official Selection – Competition. The director Ofir Raul Graizer says that he has put all he knew and all that was close to him in the film. Moreover, he was inspired by the life of a man from his vicinity, who, similar to the main character in the film, was forced by circumstances to lead a double life.
Director Graizer dedicated a long time to preparing the film; apart from searching for locations in Jerusalem and Berlin, where he has lived in turn for the last seven years, he also tried a job in a bakery for some time. “I wanted to bring as much of my life as possible to the film, and baking is an integral part of it. Besides, gastronomy perfectly reflects Israeli traditions and the symbol of a family,” the director explained.
The authors wished to further explore a situation where a man is forced to deal with contradictory feelings such as grief and anger. “Another strong motive for me was a conflict between two people, one being a devoted believer and the other living a very secular life,” the director added.
He initially struggled to obtain financing for his film and eventually received money from an Israeli fund. The authors were also concerned that their film might not be politically correct: “That is why we screened The Cakemaker before the premiere in Germany; but the audience laughed, so everything turned out all right,” producer Itai Tamir concluded, smiling.
