On April 9, 1948, a Jewish militia entered the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin and killed over 100 villagers. Soon after, a mental hospital was built on the ruins. The first patients to be committed were Holocaust survivors. A legend says that to this day, the survivors have been communicating with the ghosts of the village. Forgiveness tells the story of David Adler, a 20-year old American-Israeli who decides to move back to Israel, only to find himself committed to a mental institution that sits on the ruins of a Palestinian village called Deir Yassin. Flashbacks and flashforwards reveal the events that led up to his hospitalization.
Direction
Aloni braids Holocaust and Nakba into one suffocating nightmare
Production
Shot in actual former asylum; walls practically weep history
Acting
Itay Tiran's unraveling feels too real to watch comfortably
Director
Udi Aloni
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Udi Aloni is a noted political activist; this film was banned from some Israeli festivals for 'equating' Holocaust and Nakba narratives.
Deir Yassin massacre is foundational to Palestinian collective memory but rarely taught in Israeli schools—this film's existence is itself a political act.
US
