Esther

The first fiction feature of Gitai’s career is a poetic reinterpretation of a Biblical story about Esther, a woman who sacrifices herself and becomes involved in a circle of revenge in order to save her people. The film is sketched as a great big living picture, whereby theatrical sets, stagecraft, special effects, images of ancient mountains are placed side by side with traffic jams, while siren and honking horn sounds contribute to Gitai’s intention of giving his film a timeless appeal. Going back to the time when the original story began, Gitai’s first take portrays the banquet scene of King Ahasuerus’s wedding, while a narrator’s voice-over gives the historical background to the Book of Esther. The heroin is a woman of Jewish origin who flees to exile in order to escape King Nabuchadonosor’s persecution and seeks refuge in the palace of Sushan with her uncle and tutor, Mordecai. To have their lives saved, her uncle warns her to keep secret of their origins. Unbeknown of her Jewish descent, Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther. His appreciation of the family grows even more after Mordecai helps the king to uncover a plot against him. Meanwhile, the royal advisor, Haman, becomes increasingly envious of Mordecai’s influence and plots against him.

Born in Haifa, Israel, in 1950. His works are presented at Mostra since the 20 th edition, in 1996, with The Arena of Murder. In 2004, at the 28 th Mostra, he was honored with an exhibition of his photos, the publishing of a book and a complete retrospective of his films, including Kadosh (1999) and Kedma (2002, awarded with the Critics Prize at the 26 th Mostra). He directed a short film in the collective project Welcome to São Paulo (2004), produced by Mostra. He has also directed Free Zone (2005), Disengagement (2007) and Ana Arabia (2013). Gitai won the Humanity Award at the 31 st Mostra, in 2007. The director also presented at the 38 th Mostra with the films Tsili (2014) and Words with Gods (2014). He exhibited at the 41 st Mostra the feature film West of the Jordan River (2017).

43ª MOSTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA

43ª MOSTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA