Credits
Director: Ran Tal
Producers: Amir Harel, Ayelet Kait, Ran Tal
Editor: Nili Feller
Cinematographer: Daniel Kedem
Sound Designer: Alex Claude
Sound Recording: Tully Chen
Music: Avi Belleli
Additional photography: Itay Marom
Documentary
Israel 2012
74 min
Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, Yidish
English Subtitles
Details
The Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden
Synopsis
"The Garden of Eden” is the story of Gan HaShlosha, better known as the “Sakhne”,
one of the largest, most famous and most visited parks in Israel.
During the spring, summer, fall and winter seasons of one full year, the film documents the park’s transformation, and with a spectacular expression of cinematic beauty, it tells the stories of the people who visit the park and work therein: Yaacov, whose wife left him and who has since been living a sad and lonely existence; Athir, who is planning to move to Canada because life in Israel does not enable him to reach his full potential; Yael, who was forced to wed at the age of 13 and suffered many years of physical and mental abuse; Itzhak, who has yet to recover from the death of his brother in war and seeks a refuge from the mourning in the cool waters. These are but some of the captivating and touching individuals which the camera encounters.
Director Ran Tal, who dismantled and reassembled the myth of the kibbutz in his film “Children of the Sun”, studies the innermost parts of Israeli society with humor, beauty, pain and compassion in the least expected location – a recreation park.
Awards
Best Director - Jerusalem International Film Festival
Best Feature - Mediteran Film Festival - Grand Prix
Best film - Miradas Doc, Spain
Best Documentary - The Israeli Documentary Forum Awards, 2013
Best Editing - The Israeli Documentary Forum Awards, 2013
Best Sound - The Israeli Documentary Forum Awards, 2013
Best Original Score - The Israeli Documentary Forum Awards, 2013
Best Photographing - The Israeli Documentary Forum Awards, 2013
Festivals
Jerusalem International Film Festival, 2012
IDFA, Amsterdam, 2012
True/False Film Fest, 2013
HotDocs, Toronto, 2013
Independent Film Festival Boston, 2013
Planete + DOC Film Festival, Warsaw, 2013
DOC Fest Munch, 2013
Seret – London Israeli Film Festival, 2013
Pärnu Film Festival – Estonia, 2013
Mediteran Film Festival – Bosnia, 2013
New Orleans International Film Festival, 2013
Chicago Israeli Film Festival, 2013
Bucharest Jewish Film Festival, 2013
PKF Italy, 2013
International Jewish Film Festival – Australia, 2013
Miradas Doc – Spain, 2013
Other Israel Film Festival, NY, 2013
Camerimage – Poland, 2013
MATI Center Israeli Film Festival, USA, 2013
Washington Jewish Film Festival, 2014
Ithaca Jewish Film Festival, 2014
Detroit Jewish Film Festival, 2014
Crossing Europe Film Festival, 2014
Paris Israel Film Festival Isratim, 2014
Toronto Jewish Film Festival, 2014
Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, 2014
Warsaw Jewish Film Festival, 2014
Read Reviews
Barbara Shainbaum - Jewish Tribune
Trista Dvries - Toronto Film Scene
Nirit Anderman - Haaretz (Hebrew)
Yael Munk - Erev-Rav (Hebrew)
Avner Shavit - Walla (Hebrew)
Nir Man - Makor Rishon (Hebrew)
Ofir Eyal - EDB (Hebrew)
Yair Raveh - Sinemascope (Hebrew)