Nina’s Tragedies

(107 mins) Birth.  Death.  Life.  Love.  Marriage.  Divorce.  Infatuation.  Passion.  Joy.  Heartbreak.  And dancing Hassids!  Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of “Nina’s Tragedies,” writer/director Savi Gabizon’s serio-comic look at an Israeli teenager’s coming-of-age and his attraction to his beautiful but emotionally fragile Aunt Nina. Winner of 11 Israeli Academy prizes as well as Best Film and Best Screenplay awards at the Jerusalem International Film Festival, “Nina’s Tragedies” takes place over an intensely emotional six months in the life of 14 year-old Nadav (Aviv Elkabets).  The film unfolds through a series of funny and touching journal entries in which Nadav reminisces about this turbulent period in his family’s history--from his high-strung Uncle Haimon’s (Yoram Hattav) untimely death to the passing of his estranged, deeply religious father, Amnon (Shmil Ben-Ari). After Haimon is killed in a terrorist attack, Nadav is asked by his wild, recently divorced mother Alona (Anat Waxman), to move in with her sister, Nina (Ayelet July Zurer), to provide comfort while Nina mourns the death of her new husband, Haimon. By turns profound and whimsical, sexy and surprising, “Nina’s Tragedies” is ultimately about unconditional acceptance--and the power of love to heal.

In Hebrew with English subtitles.