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Bethlehem Beit-Lehem

Yuval Adler / Israel, Germany, Belgium / 2013 / 99 min / Hebrew, Arabic

The elegant, gripping and lucid political thriller spotlights the emotional turmoil and moral dilemmas caused by the unending conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.  

Sanfur is the younger brother of Ibrahim, a highly wanted Palestinian militant. Razi, an Israeli Secret Service officer, determined to capture Ibrahim, recruited Sanfur when he was just 15, investing all his energy in the kid and developing a very intimate, almost fatherly relationship with him. Sanfur, who has always lived in his brother's shadow, thrives on Razi's attention. Now 17, he struggles to navigate between Razi’s demands and his loyalty to his brother. When the Israeli Secret Service discovers how deeply involved Sanfur is in his brother’s activities, Razi is accused of crossing professional lines and ordered to sacrifice Sanfur in an upcoming attempt to assassinate Ibrahim. As preparations for the military strike are underway both Razi and Sanfur are forced to make choices that will irreversibly change their lives.

»An Israeli secret service agent once told me: ‘The key to recruiting and running informants is not violence, or intimidation, or money; the key is to develop an intimate relationship with the informant, on a very human level. It’s not just the informant who is confused about his identity and loyalties. The agent, too – and especially the good ones – often experience a blurring of the lines.’« (Yuval Adler)

Yuval Adler
Born in Herzliya, Israel, Adler studied mathematics at the Tel Aviv University and later moved to New York, where he received a PhD in Philosophy from Columbia University. He also studied sculpture and photography at Columbia and participated in various high-profile art shows before switching to writing and directing films full-time. Bethlehem is his first feature film.

filmography
2006 Seduction (short)
2013 Beit-Lehem (Bethlehem)

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