Nati Adler

he film tells the story of two brothers from a poor neighbourhood in Tel Aviv where almost all the residents are of Iraqi descent. Avi lives with his domineering and manipulative grandmother. The return of Roni, Avi's elder brother from Europe, awakens old demons as Roni, a compulsive gambler, stakes all on the football games of Avi's beloved team, Bnei Yehuda. Avi has to choose whether to remain pure and risk losing everything, or sully his hands in order to save his world. A charming and at times hilarious look at the Mizrahi subculture of soccer-worship.

Jerusalem can rightfully be called the hat capital of the world. Whereas the rest of the world has allowed its hats to gather dust in the closet since the 1950s, Jerusalem still teems with hats and caps. From soldier to monk, everyone is identifiable by his hat. Director Nati Adler, who is neither religious nor a hat-wearer, explored the how and the why of the hats of Jerusalem. His colourful and personal trip takes us along the diverse headdresses of the three religions populating the city. What begins as an innocent exercise by a curious documentary filmmaker develops as it were into a Pandora's box full of stories and history lessons. Every answer evokes new questions. Why do people in Jerusalem wear so many hats, what is a shtreimel, why don't Armenian Christians use their Turkish hats in their ceremonies, and why do women actually have to cover their heads?