JEREMIAH

Israeli filmmaker Eran Paz depicts the life of several residents of Shapira, a downbeat district in the south of Tel Aviv. The population – a mixture of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, refugees and jobless, junkies and prostitutes – live in substandard, often provisional, housing. Jeremiah, aka Yura, is a local who sounds as rough and ready as his surroundings, but his heart is in the right place. His family and neighbours depend on him to be there when needed, and he’s the one who takes frail old Zalman out for walks, treats his friends to guitar renditions of passionate Russian songs, and keeps a watchful eye on their alcohol intake. Yura’s door is open to everyone, including his cousin Zhora, a drug addict who hardly talks any more. Caring and resolute, Yura makes sure things stay on more or less on track and nobody disappears without trace. Doing without commentary or interviews, but staying close to the protagonists all the same, the documentary describes the district and its everyday life: the haggling over second-hand TV sets, the binges on cheap red wine. But things are about to change: Yura plans to move to a different city along with his wife Tanya and their children.