In this provocative, hard-hitting Israeli drama based on true events, Assi (Ran Danker), a screenwriter and poet from Tel Aviv, is serving his court-ordained community service term by teaching filmmaking to a rowdy class of juvenile delinquents in Beersheba. Though Assi is reluctant at first, he soon forms a delicate friendship with one of his most volatile students, Eden (Adar Hazazi Gersch). A troubled youth who is sensitive and affectionate one moment and unpredictably violent the next, Eden comes to see Assi more as a father figure than a teacher. As their lives become irrevocably intertwined, Assi realizes that Eden’s troubles are larger than he is equipped to handle and may hinder the student’s potential for success.
Nominated for nine Ophir Awards, DOUBTFUL is inspired by writer/director Eliran Elya’s own experiences working with at-risk youth. In a striking creative choice, the film evokes gritty realism by using actual at-risk students to play versions of themselves on screen. Danker gives his best performance yet as a young man searching for honesty, meaning, and lasting connection, while Gersch delivers a nuanced, sensitive portrayal of a troubled teen on the brink of a mental collapse.
