Thursday, March 16, 7:00 PM

Seattle Premiere

Israel, 1999, 120 min.

Hebrew w/subtitles

Amos Gitai, Director

Kadosh (Sacred)

In the ultra-orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim, Rivka and Meir are deeply in love after 10 years of marriage but unable to have children. When the rabbi implores Meir to divorce and marry a fertile woman, the couple is sent into a tailspin. Meanwhile, Rivka’s younger sister, Malka, is in love with a man banished from the community. She considers leaving the fold when pressured to enter an arranged marriage.  All are torn by agonizing conflicts between romantic love and religious devotion. Amos Gitai, Israel’s acclaimed director, explores women’s dilemmas in ultra-Orthodoxy but develops this complex and controversial subject with sympathy and impeccable clarity. One of the best regarded films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Kadosh is sure to inspire vibrant post-film discussion led by two Jewish community leaders.

Special Guests: Rivy Poupko Kletenik, Director of Jewish Education Services for the Jewish Education Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and Rabbi Dan Bridge, Executive Director of Hillel/UW.

For more information about this film, visit www.kino.com/kadosh.html

For a list of related readings available at Tree of Life Books and Judaica and through the American Jewish Committee, please visit our SJFF 2000 Reading List.