Zohar

A short musical about love, disappointment and big hopes. Zohar believes that love should come easily, just like the movies. And if there is no love like that in sight, she rather be all by herself. When Zohar meets Danny, he shows her that feeling pain is better than not feeling at all.

  • Hani Gal-Ed
    Director
  • Hani Gal-Ed
    Writer
  • Moshe Ashkenazi
    Writer
  • Adi Betser
    Producer
  • Lior Hanegbi
    Producer
  • Adir Benisty
    Key Cast
    "Cinematographer"
  • Idan Liber
    Key Cast
    "Editor"
  • Adam Goddenyu
    Key Cast
    "Art director"
  • Geva Hason
    Key Cast
    "Original Music"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    זהר
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Musical
  • Runtime:
    26 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 5, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    19,603 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Israel
  • Country of Filming:
    Israel
  • Language:
    Hebrew
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.40:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Hani Gal-Ed

I was born in Carkur then moved to Carmiel and now I live in Sderot
From a young age imagination was an inseparable part of my childhood, in some part as an escape, I am a child of divorced parents with a younger sister. I left with my mother and sister after the divorce to Carmiel, there I attended the theater department of my high school, acting, directing and producing. We put on a number of shows during my time there. Film has always been a part of my life, some people say films can’t change reality or affect any kind of change, but that’s not what I think. Films for me were a sometimes a mirror to look in or a glimpse at a different life that I could imagine being part of. In the end we are all just people dealing with the same problems in different ways. I decided to go to film school over other things because I believe that is the best way for me personally to influence this world, with my art. Thanks to my studies I was exposed to different worlds and discovered things about the art of film making that I couldn’t find in any other vocation. I was always better at the visual side than the words, my way of expressing myself was through emotions and images that best conveyed what I couldn’t put into words. The spirit doesn’t have just one way of expressing itself, and film, in my opinion, does it best of all. Ever since I can remember I’ve walked in unusual paths, in all my films I strive for originality, in script and visuals. The musical genre is not a common thing in Israel, and even less so when it comes to student short films. Going to place others won’t go and changing the perception of Israeli film in the world were some of the reasons behind making this musical.

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Director Statement

As a kid I watched musicals eagerly. I watched the big love on screen, wishing that someday, I would have a perfect and beautiful love like that - love that conquers all with a simple, easy "cut", just like in the movies. But as I grew older, life taught me love and relationship takes effort and hard work. In real life there is no editor that does all the work for me.
Zohar is a part of me, and when I decided to make her the lead character of the movie, I wanted to incorporate another love of mine – music.
Zohar is a romantic musical that moves between the real world and the movies. When I wrote the script, I had a lot of Questions I wanted to figure out – When does the reality and the movie collide and when does it fall apart? Who decided that first date must be awkward? Who decided how my first kiss is going to be or my first sexual experience?
the way I see it, Zohar should not have one big significant trauma. Because sometimes, a variety of events, that seem small by themselves, can be very hard on your heart and soul added together. Those events can raise a lot of defenses that over the years, creates a tall wall that is very hard to break. In this case, I found the fear of intimacy the most interesting. When an individual finds him self alone for a very long time and grown used to it, it can be very unsettling to have a new relationship come into your life. How do I act now? What's right and what's not? And how do you deal when you find out that "relationship" is not like in the movies, but in fact lot more complicated?
Not everything is in our own power and sometimes we can't change certain things, but, there are some things that if we won't work for, we won't gain. Learning how to love and be loved, knowing you can have connections with people. And not only by swiping right or left on Tinder or getting likes on Facebook. With "Zohar" I want to give hope to people that there are great loves out there. Yes it will be tough to get there, but no one should give up the search for love and intimacy so fast.