As a cultural attaché, I get to see a lot of movies; most of them are Israeli.The most recent Israeli film that I saw was "Fill the Void", which was a heart-touching story that takes place in the ultra-orthodox community in Tel Aviv.

There are so many words that describe this movie, but please allow me to write about only one --misconception.

I and many of my non-orthodox Jewish acquaintances think we understand this close knit community because we have lived among them and actively follow the news. But, do we really understand them?

This movie proves that we do not. The pure, simple honesty of this film demonstrates that familiarity does not necessarily equate understanding. 

 
I recommend this award-winning film, not only because it opened the mind about the ultra-Hassidic community, but because it opened my mind about the way we perceive what we don’t really know.

Just like the perception of Texans wearing a cowboy hat and drilling for oil or that all Israelis are focusing on politics between Jews and Arabs…

So, anybody opened to a changed perception will tremendously enjoy this film.

The next opportunity to see it will be at the Summer Israeli Film Series in Houston. See the Calendar of Events on our website for more details.