Haifa on a sunny day. Moshe is a crumbling man walking up the Carmel Mountain on yet another work day. Will this day mark his collapse? Uri walks down the mountain to board a ship and leave behind all the things he loves and despises. His sense of belonging is losing ground. He is likely to miss his military reserve service-call, thus risking jail. Will the two collide or pass through one another? An existential comedy, where the overbearing mountain with its endless stairs takes control over destinies in this unique panorama of the Mediterranean port city.

Direction: Elad Keidan

Script: Elad Keidan

Production: Elie Meirovitz, Eitan Mansuri, ,

Cinematography: Yaron Scharf

Editing: Arik Lahav-Leibovitch

Production Design: Dina Kornveits

Costume Design: Keren Eyal-Melamed

Sound: Aviv Aldema, Vitaliy Grinshpun, Jean-Yves Rousseaux

Original Score: Thierry Caroubi

Cast: Itay Tiran, Uri Klauzner

Original Title: HAYORED LEMA'ALA

Original Language: Hebrew

Film Production Countries: Israel, France

Statement of the Director/s
Walking is a big part of my life, giving me a sense of freedom. Born in Haifa, I‘ve often walked up and down Mount Carmel and I‘ve always wanted to tell a story that would encompass the whole city, top-to-bottom. From the old lower parts through layers of socialism in the middle and up to capitalist squeaking efforts at the peak, all inter-connected by dozens of public staircases. Another part of this exploration was the textural quality of human surroundings, exploding with meaning and stories while at the same time lonely and dull. It was Heraclitus who said: "The most beautiful world is like a heap of rubble tossed down in confusion". For me it sounds like Heraclitus was living in modern Israel where the urge to build and run over previous histories turns reality into, well, a heap of rubble.
My hometown of Haifa was a very distinct socialist city with modernist style tenement housing, naïve folk dancing and an unusual quota of nature allotted for the blue collar workers and their neighborhoods. One day the Berlin Wall fell. And strangely, even though we were part of the "West", change came. Cooked up and watered down American dreams for second rate nations were quickly taking over what was the social bedrock of our identity. Shopping centers, cableTV, tower housing sprouting everywhere. It happened very naturally. Our parents themselves were already cynical about social ideas, increasingly sanctifying personal gain and individual interests. The old mountain side of Haifa was a barometer of the old value system turning hollow. It's like a dried up lizard from a different geological age. Capturing it before it's lost forever was also one of my aims.
The dream to emigrate is a mutual dream of many in conflict ridden areas. Uri, my young protagonist, a hazy poet and thinker, is on his way to flee the country. He's evading military reserve service, cutting all strings behind him. His story identifies that phemeral thing which makes us belong to a place. Contrary to Uri, who always seems to have the last retort, my second protagonist, Moshe, is a crumbling man who starts his day only to find his life flipping upside down. His story will lead him to be at a loss for words but perhaps also grant him a new hope. With their stories I've examined subjects such as loyalty, betrayal and human bondage. In a way, my protagonists are an allegory of the country I live in – unable to choose a path, even though the ground keeps rolling under its feet.

Biography of the Director/s
Elad Keidan is an Israeli filmmaker, writer and director. After graduating from the Sam Spiegel film school in Jerusalem, Elad continues to study arts and film at the Tel-Aviv University. In addition to making films, his experience includes TV work, academic writing and teaching.
His short films were screened world-wide, among them ANTHEM, Cinéfondation winner in Cannes. AFTERTHOUGHT is his first feature-length film.
Born in Haifa, Elad is a father of two.

Filmography:
2008 ANTHEM, short
2012 AND ON HE WALKS, short

World Sales:
The Match Factory GmbH
Balthasarstr. 79-81
Cologne, 50670, Germany
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +49 221 539 709 0
Website: http://www.the-match-factory.com/

Press:
Alibi Communications
Brigitta Portier
Bergstraat 158
Kessel Lo, 3010, Belgium
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +33 6 28 96 81 65
Website: http://www.alibicommunications.be/