Ushpizin : DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT


I had made two films with Shuli in the past. He was the best actor I had ever worked with.
Then he became ultra-Orthodox with the beard and the hat and the black-and-white clothes,
and left the business. Eight years later I suggested to him that we should do another movie. As
we developed the story together, it became clear to me that this film would be different. It
would have to tell the story from two different perspectives at the same time: from the point
of view of “the believer” and from a psychological perspective. The psychological approach is
more hidden - it investigates the mind of the believer, his internal mathematics and the way he
interpret his reality and God.

I had to dive deep into the ultra-Orthodox experience, even accepting its rules for a while
(as they pertain to the film.) I agreed to these stipulations because I knew this was the only
way I could have an honest look inside this world, which no camera had ever entered. It is an
isolated world that lives by the rules of the Torah, revolving around the work of God.
As director I did not want to criticize them, but to tell a story about a test of faith that will
authentically show the unique way my heroes see their lives, the lives of the believers.

—Gidi Dar