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kissing the wall

Yoni and Emily, two perfect strangers, spend a once-in-a-lifetime evening together, on a passionate and unforgettable night drive. A drive that could change their lives forever.

  • Yehuda Udi persi
    Director
    15 years, room 514, 10% my child, Chazarot, wedding doll
  • Yehuda Udi persi
    Writer
  • Encore films
    Producer
  • Yehuda Udi persi
    Key Cast
    "Yoni"
    Chazarot, Laavor et HaKir, room 514, Hatuna MeNiyar...
  • Yuval Yuval Scharf
    Key Cast
    "Emily"
    Malkat HaYofi shel Yerushalayim
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    לנשק את הקיר
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Israel
  • Country of Filming:
    Israel
  • Language:
    Hebrew
  • Shooting Format:
    digital - Mini alexa
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Nominated for the Best Short Film Award - Israeli Academy Awards 2023.
    Tel - aviv
    Israel
    July 1, 2023
    Nominated for the Best Short Film Award
  • Official selection - Odense International Film Festival 2023
    Odense
    Denmark
    August 30, 2023
    oscar qualified
    official selection
  • Official selection - Jerusalem film festival 2023.
    Jerusalem
    Israel
    July 16, 2023
    israeli primiere - oscar qualified
    Official selection
  • Winner - Best First Time Director - Hollywood Best Indie Film Awards 2024
    Los Angels
    United States
    January 10, 2024
    Winner - Best First Time Director.
  • Winner - Best Actor Short Film - Budapest Movie Awards
    Budapest
    February 24, 2024
    Winner Best Actor Short Film
  • Official Selection - London Director Awards - 2024
    London
    February 16, 2024
    Official Selection
  • RED MOVIE AWARDS
    REIMS
    France
    March 30, 2024
    Award Winner - Best short film 2024
Director Biography - Yehuda Udi persi

Soon after completing his mandatory army service as an officer in the Israeli navy, Udi got accepted to one of Israel's prestigious acting schools - landing his first role as a lead actor in the independent feature film "ROOM 514" (winner special mention Tribeca film festival). For this film Udi was also nominated for best actor.

Since then, Udi established himself in the Israeli film industry and appeared in more than 20 Israeli films and TV shows, including: 10% my child (palm springs)., rehearsals (4 awards Israeli academy), 'The Wedding plan', '15 Years', '10 Percent my child', 'Wedding doll', 'Halayla Haze' and more.

He has won awards for the Best Actor award for his role in the films '15 Years'.

In addition to be an accomplished actor, Udi also became a sought-after acting coach and worked with renowned actors in the Israeli industry. Udi's love to acting and coaching led him to fulfill a long-time passion - writing, directing and acting in his first short film "kissing the wall", which had its Israeli premiere at the 2023 Jerusalem Film Festival and will have its world premiere at the Odense International Film Festival 2023. Kissing the wall is also nominated to the 2023 Israeli academy award - for best short movie - israeli oscar.

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Director Statement

Peering through the window of my life, one might easily mistake it for a picturesque scene straight out of a glossy magazine—a tableau of apparent success and fulfillment. With a thriving social circle, a distinguished military service history, a fulfilling career, a radiant partner, three wonderful children, and even a garden and a dog that refuses to lie in it. my life seems to check all the boxes of societal expectations. Yet, behind this meticulously crafted facade lies a truth too heavy to bear—a truth that gnaws at the very core of my being.

Despite outward appearances, a profound sense of emptiness haunts me, a relentless ache for meaning and belonging that refuses to be silenced. Even amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life, a pervasive loneliness weighs heavy on my soul, an invisible burden I carry alone. The relentless pursuit of perfection, fueled by an insatiable need for validation, only serves to deepen the chasm within, plunging me into the depths of anxiety, depression, and unyielding despair.

In the pages of Alice Miller's enlightening tome, "The Drama of the Gifted Child," I find echoes of my own struggles—a poignant reminder of the enduring impact of unmet emotional needs on the human psyche. Like many others, I too have succumbed to the allure of a "false self," an idealized image fashioned to appease the expectations of others, only to find myself drowning in the sea of my own inadequacies.

This, then, is my life story—a narrative of yearning, of unspoken desires, and the relentless quest for authenticity in a world consumed by illusion. It is a story mirrored in the lives of Yoni and Amelie, the protagonists of my film—a poignant exploration of two souls bound by shared anguish, yet destined to dance on the periphery of each other's lives.

As the director of this film, I am compelled to peel back the layers of pretense and reveal the raw, unvarnished truth that lies beneath. For in the vulnerability of our shared humanity lies the promise of redemption—a promise that beckons us to embrace our flaws and forge genuine connections, even amidst the vast expanse of our existential voids.

I wanted to tell, perhaps for the first time on the screen, about a "perfect" man who lives in an unspeakable existential void. He desperately needs to see himself in another, to be approved, to feel something.
For her it is seen as a fantasy. She also knows it - she's funny, looks like a dream and everything seems to be "easy" for her. But she is childish, without limits, with a huge need for a family, an anchor.

kissing the wall.