Hold Me Tightly

The script for this film was written by my student Erez Maharal, who had not previously written texts for the cinema. It was crystal clear to me from the first sight, that the heroes of this story are people intimately close to the author, and a sincere love for these slightly ridiculous people shines through the irony and a mocking tone. Russian-speaking residents of Israel, especially older people (including my parents), are a substantial and very colourful part of the modern Israeli society. However filmmakers rarely pay attention to them. Through this story, I want to tell the viewer that true love, which was tested by time and adversity, is sometimes very difficult to discern. And then, there is in an inner tender and invincible feeling of love, hiding behind the rough facade of irritated and swearing old woman visiting her husband, who suffers from dementia and lives in a nursing home. This is my second short film as a director, and the first in Israel.