Jakub Dylewski

In the idyllic world of Israeli kibbutzim everything has its own pace. There’s a time for work and for rest. There’s a time for fun too, which is when 9‑year‑old Tom and his friends play hide‑and‑seek or attack each other with a drone. Then there are moments when you have to hide and you only get 15 seconds. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, lose a life if you’re too slow. The film is a documentary observation of life in closed‑off settlements located in a military zone less than 5 kilometres from the Gaza strip.

Based on the true story of the main character, Edmund, who deals with various forms of frustration rooted in life as a transgender person in a highly oppressive society. A series of absurd psycho-magical acts leads to the final liberation and allegorical transition into the pearl. To create a safe space to deal with traumas, Edmund’s family and friends were engaged in this process. The aim was not only to create the right therapeutic conditions for the main actor but also for the viewers dealing with similar issues – both by creating the representation and normalization of transgender body and sexuality.

The ghost of a possessed girl, trapped for centuries within a stone, encounters the director’s 102-year-old grandmother. What begins as a haunting becomes a tender dialogue, as archival, staged and documentary footage blur.