ONCE UPON A TIME… GETT, THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM

Intervenants : 

• Ronit ELKABETZ, Director
• Shlomi ELKABETZ, Director
• Ariel SCHWEITER, film historian
• Ruth HALPERIN-KADDARI, Director of the Rackman Centre
• Delphine HORVILLEUR, rabbi
• Menashe NOY, actor, role of Carmel
• Simon ABKARIAN, actor, role of Elisha
• Joseph AGASSI, philosopher
• Sasson GABAI, actor, role of Shimon

Released in 2014, Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem is the last part of a family trilogy by Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz. The documentary film explores the gruelling judicial marathon that Viviane Amsalem endured in order to obtain a divorce.

In Israel, divorce, like marriage, falls under the jurisdiction of the rabbinical court and not the civil court. Furthermore, even when granted by judges, divorce only becomes effective if the husband accepts the judgment. If not, some women may remain tied by the bond of marriage for several years without the possibility of starting a new life. Viviane Amsalem (beautifully portrayed by Ronit Elkabetz) is one of them.

Shot in Israel by an Israeli director, the documentary film Once upon a time… Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem is the fortieth in the collection ” A film and its era ” created by Marie Genin and Serge July. Through their testimonies, the protagonists of the film, but also jurists, philosophers, and feminist activists highlight the archaisms and contradictions of Israeli society, caught between State and religion, tradition and modernity. The documentary film is also a beautiful interwoven cameo of a movie couple, in this case a brother and a sister who have a close-knit relationship. Ronit Elkabetz, Israel’s most famous actress, who died in April 2016, gives her final and poignant interview.