''Jewboy'' is a 2005 Australian film directed by Tony Krawitz. The film stars
Ewen Leslie,
Chris Haywood
Chris Haywood (born ) is an English-born Australian actor, writer and producer, with close to 500 screen performances to his name. Haywood has also worked as a casting director, art director, sound recordist, camera operator, gaffer, grip, lo ...
,
Saskia Burmeister, and
Nicholas Eadie. It won the 2005
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television indust ...
for Best Short Fiction Film, Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay in a Short.
Plot
The film tells of a young
Orthodox Jew
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...
ish man's struggle after the death of his father. The young man returns from
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
to find that he would prefer to leave Orthodoxy, and departs from his remaining family to become a taxi driver. He gradually assimilates into secular life, soon finding himself tempted to fornicate.
The film appears to mimic the
Parable of the Prodigal Son
The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father) is one of the parables of Jesus Christ in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. Jesus shares the parable wit ...
, with the main character appearing to reconsider Orthodox life at the end of the film by reuniting with his family.
Release
The film showed in the
Un Certain Regard
(, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films ...
at the
2005 Cannes Film Festival
The 58th Cannes Film Festival started on 11 May and ran until 22 May 2005. Twenty movies from 13 countries were selected to compete. The awards were announced on 21 May. The Palme d'Or went to the Belgian film '' L'Enfant'' by Dardenne brothers.
...
,
as well as in official selection in the
2006 Sundance Film Festival
The 2006 Sundance Film Festival was held in Utah from January 19, to January 29, 2006. It was held in Park City, with screenings in Salt Lake City; Ogden; and the Sundance Resort. It was the 22nd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival, and the c ...
. After the presentation, Tony Krawitz, the Jewish director, and Ewen Leslie (who is not Jewish) responded to various questions, claiming that the title was not meant to be offensive, and the film had been prescreened by a Jewish audience to positive reviews.
Cast
*
Ewen Leslie – Yuri
*
Naomi Wilson – Minnie
*
Saskia Burmeister – Rivka
*
Leah Vandenberg – Sarita
*
Nicholas Eadie – Isaac
*
Chris Haywood
Chris Haywood (born ) is an English-born Australian actor, writer and producer, with close to 500 screen performances to his name. Haywood has also worked as a casting director, art director, sound recordist, camera operator, gaffer, grip, lo ...
– Sam
*
Nathan Besser – Alon
*
Alice McConnell
Alice McConnell is an Australian actress. For her performance in '' The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant'' she was nominated for the 2005 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama.
McConnel ...
– Cheryl
*
Nicholas Calafato – Jew Boy
*
Kelly Butler – Woman in Taxi
*
Alan Flower
Alan may refer to:
People
*Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname
*Alan (given name), an English given name
**List of people with given name Alan
''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.''
*Al ...
– STA Passenger
*
Richard Green – Gary
*
Jake Stone – Yossi
*
Sky Tse – Chinese Man
*
Adam Rosenberg – Dovid
*
Shivani Dewan – Nina
Box office
''Jewboy'' grossed $19,118 at the box office in Australia.
''Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office''
See also
*Cinema of Australia
The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of '' The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internat ...
References
External links
*
Jewboy at the National Film and Sound Archive
official website
2005 films
Australian drama short films
2005 drama films
Films about Jews and Judaism
Films produced by Liz Watts
2000s English-language films
2000s Australian films
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