Eyes Wide Open

About The Film

A married father falls in love with a seductive younger man in the quietly devastating EYES WIDE OPEN, a bold drama that dares to explore the highly controversial theme of homosexuality in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox community. Aaron (stage veteran Zohar Strauss) runs a butcher shop and lives a life of purity with his stoic wife Rivka and their four young sons. His rigidly ordered world is disrupted with the arrival of Ezri (Israeli heartthrob Ran Danker), a lost soul who awakens dormant feelings. Torn between love and lust, and his religious and family responsibilities, Aaron is forced to reassess his role in the community and make a pivotal decision. Carefully nuanced art direction, sound design and costumes all reinforce the insular world and an escalating sense of dread. Zohar Strauss won the 2009 Jerusalem Film Festival Best Actor award for his breakthrough portrayal of a man tormented by traditional religious boundaries.