Shaul Shalhin

David is a lonely 12-year-old boy whose drunken father fails to see him heading down the path of juvenile delinquency in this teen drama. David’s only friends are a disabled girl from his class and his faithful dog. He is pressured by teens who want him to be a lookout while they “raid” a local drugstore.

The film opens with a monologue by a year five pupil who goes to primary school in the city of Rishon LeZion, outside Tel Aviv. He addresses the camera and a recent incident that happened in class, which helped his fellow pupils and himself learn how to better treat “new kids and new people.” Thus begins the story of Maya Kajinowski, who arrives at the school as part of the tidal wave of mass Jewish migration to Israel, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early ‘90s. Maya struggles to integrate and assimilate, as the native children continue to tease her, relentlessly, for her accent and looks, and flat out refuse to sit next to her. When the bullying and humiliation reach their nastiest peak, after which the children’s treatment of Maya finally starts to change, Maya too turns a corner and goes from the new immigrant and perennial outsider to a student, just like everyone else.

This film by ‘Shalhin Productions – Children’s Educational Films’ features the stories of the students and teachers at Rishon LeZion’s Rosen School (just outside Tel Aviv), through which it tackles a range of educational hot topics. The children grapple with violence and bullying incidents in the schoolyard, a spate of thefts in the classroom, personal labels and stigmas, and the immense challenge of shaking those off, and concepts such as friendship and respect. Ben and Nimrod, who fail to offer their seats to an elderly woman at the bus stop, are given an educational ‘punishment’ in the form of having to go to the woman’s home and keep her company; Yael, meanwhile, must come to terms with her parents’ divorce; whereas Ronen, whose dad had recently been sacked from his job, befriends a pair of young thugs who start showering him with gifts – all of which are stolen.

A film by Shalhin Productions – Children’s Educational Cinema, which follows a group of primary school children in the city of Rishon LeZion (outside Tel Aviv) during a student council election campaign. Guy, Batia, and Amir are all running for Student Council Leader, whilst simultaneously having to deal with the usual challenges, fears, and disappointments in and outside of school. Meanwhile, a professional gang of burglars and robbers goes on a crime spree that sends shockwaves through the lives of students, teachers, and parents alike. The children’s, parents’ and teachers’ storylines all intersect against the backdrop of a school gym break-in and the vandalising of the basketball court. When the children’s and criminals’ paths cross, a major fallout ensues which brings the various characters together.