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Menashe
Tradition tears one grief-stricken Jewish family apart in writer-director Joshua Z Weinstein's character study, which is performed entirely in Yiddish by non-actors. The setting is Borough Park in Brooklyn, home to one of the largest ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in America. Ham-fisted father Menashe (Menashe Lustig) lives in this close-knit enclave with his wife and 10-year-old son Rieven (Ruben Niborski). When the woman of the house dies, Menashe is forced to give up his boy because a widower is not permitted to raise a child without a spouse. Consequently, Rieven is relocated to live with Menashe's brother Eizik (Yoel Weisshaus) so the widower can resolve the situation. Desperate to spend time with his boy without having to remarry in haste, Menashe successfully argues to the rabbi (Meyer Schwartz) that he should be granted a break with tradition. Thus, Menashe is granted one week to prove that he can provide a stable home for the boy.
