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When I started to become religious, I began attending the tiny synagogue near my home every Saturday. I concentrated on every word of the prayers, trying to be as exact as I could in all the tunes, and all the rituals. I wanted to be "serious" about Judaism. But every few weeks, there would be a bar- or bat-mitzvah with a family who weren't Orthodox, and weren't members of the synagogue. They weren't the least bit interested in the nuts and bolts of the liturgy, but they came with colorful balloons and baskets of candies, and most importantly, they came with their joy. And that got me thinking about what really needs to happen at the synagogue - that it needs to be a place not just for prayer and introspection, but for partying and fun and celebrating. This is the film that was born from those thoughts.
Country: Israel
T-Port Partner: Maaleh Film School
Bio: Aviya Kalifa Shaked was born in Jerusalem and served as an officer in the Education Corps of the IDF. Aviya is now in her third year of studies at the Maaleh Film School and is working on her graduating documentary.
Single mother Irit Bardugo's only son has reached bar mitzvah age, and she's planning a...
