Joseph Cedar : “Our country displays a terrible lack of compassion”

Joseph Cedar gave a press conference on Footnote, his film In Competition. He was accompanied by his two leading actors, Lior Ashkenazi and Shlomo Bar Aba.

In the film, Uriel wears a kippa, but his father, Eliezer, doesn´t. Joseph Cedar explains why:
Generally speaking, the opposite is true:the father is the one who upholds tradition and wears religious symbols.However, in Eliezer´s case, the truth is what counts, rather than symbols. He considers the kippa to be folkloric. In contrast, his son values folklore and the sign of belonging to a community.

Joseph Cedar, on cinema in Israel:
This film does not deal with conflict at the national level, but rather within the context of a personal story. It reflects the desire to live peacefully in Israel. In the Talmud, it says that you should not do unto others as you would not like them to do unto you. In a word: compassion. Our country displays a terrible lack of compassion.

Lior Ashkenazi on his way out of the Grand Théâtre Lumière:
Something funny happened after the screening. Nobody recognised me. That’s the biggest compliment anyone can pay to an actor! That’s what I aim for in my job. In my other films, people recognized me; there was no filter. This time, I altered my physical appearance, my voice, and so on.I hope I have the chance to play other roles like this one in the future.

Shlomo Bar Aba on his parents:
I didn’t have a very great relationship with my parents. I didn’t have the chance to patch things up with them before they passed away. For me, the main message of this film is that you have to make peace with your parents while they are still alive.

Comments recorded by T.K.