New film by creators of Maktub to be released in September

While this may sound like a serious story, the creators of the hit television show “Asfor” will bring out the funny side.

By HANNAH BROWN
Shiri Maimon (photo credit: Courtesy)
Shiri Maimon
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Absolution, the latest film by Guy Amir and Hanan Savyon – creators of Maktub, the most popular Israeli movie in over 30 years – will be released on September 29 in theaters across the country.
The movie stars the comic duo, who are also the directors, alongside singer Shiri Maimon in her first role in a film. The cast also includes Tsahi Halevi (Mossad), Noa Koler (The Wedding Plan) and Alon Aboutboul (The Dark Knight Rises).
This time, the two play friends Shaul and Nissan from a town in southern Israel that is constantly under missile fire from Gaza. Three years ago they carried out a robbery together. Nissan fled abroad while Shaul was caught and sent to prison. Absolution tells the story of what happens when Shaul is released and goes home to seek forgiveness from his wife, while Nissan comes back to Israel as a newly observant Jew also asking forgiveness from his friend.

While this may sound like a serious story, the creators of the hit television show Asfor will bring out the funny side.

Absolution continues the long tradition of popular comic Israeli films, once called “sertei bourekas” (bourekas movies). They started in the 1960s and were a huge part of the Israeli film industry, especially in the 1970s. In fact, these popular movies helped finance the art films. But they petered out in the 1980s, only to be revived in recent years with such films as Mossad, Four by Four, The Last Band in Lebanon and, of course, Maktub.
The film was produced by Moshe and Leon Edery of United King Films, Adar Shafran and Roni Abramowsky of Firma Films, with support from the Rabinowitz Foundation and Keshet.


Related Tags
cinema