Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

• Original Title Gett, le procès de Viviane Amsalem
• Country Israel, France, Germany
• Original Language Hebrew, French
• Director Ronit Elkabetz, Shlomi Elkabetz
• Producer Sandrine Brauer, Shlomi Elkabetz, Marie Masmontiel / Co-producers: Denis Carot, Michael Eckelt
• Run Time 115 mins
• Distributor JIFF Distribution
• Classification PG

“An altogether strange but astonishing work of craftsmanship … a patriarchal legal loophole becomes the wellspring for densely rich drama, told with stringent austerity but also humour and judicious empathy.” – The Hollywood Reporter

Viviane Amsalem wants a divorce – something that’s far from simple under Israeli law, where divorce cases are heard by rabbinical courts, and separation is only granted when the husband officially releases his wife from marriage via a divorce document known as a “gett”. So begins Viviane’s five-year odyssey through the Israeli justice system, a bewildering and darkly comic crash course in the enigmatic bindings of language, tradition and law.

Brother-sister filmmaking team Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz return to the big screen with Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem, the third film in their trilogy, which opened with To Take a Wife (also screening at this year’s BAPFF). Premiering to acclaim at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and recent winner of Best Film at the Israeli Film Academy Awards, this is a brilliantly crafted, expertly acted tour de force that revels in the Kafkaesque absurdities where religion and justice merge.