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Synopsis: Hedgehog tells the story of Hannah, a 25 year-old hispanic woman, who works at a senior home as a caregiver.
One night, Hannah suspects that one of her patients; Mr. Holtz (93) may be a Nazi criminal who has been hiding in their home under a false identity. When Hannah decides to investigate, she ends up spending the entire night with Mr. Holtz, getting to know him and even befriending him. They drink together, play a board game and even go on a “date” in the empty dining room at sunrise. While getting to know Mr. Holtz, Hannah attempts to find the monster inside the jolly, helpless old man.
During the course of the night, Holtz reveals to Hannah that he has Alzheimer’s. Soon he will forget who he is. Should Hannah let that happen, or make him face the consequences of his deeds?

Genre

Drama

Language

English

Run Time

20 minutes

Starring

Shelly Kurtz (Mr. Holtz)
Maryam Roberts (Hannah)

Director's Statement

Hedgehog is a short film which attempts to tackle one of the most important questions arising from the ashes of the Nazi death camps – were the perpetrators, evil psychopaths, radicalized extremeists and sadists? Or were they ordinary men? Confronting the fact that most soldiers who murdered women and children during the Holocaust were ordinary men, makes us realize that each and every one of us is capable of the unimaginable.

Hedgehog brings this difficult realization to the forefront of our minds and serves as a warning that along the most wonderful sides of our humanity resides an unknown side, which under the right circumstances could commit the most horrific crimes.

Director's Bio

Ye’ela started as a director in the Israeli film and TV industry. She then moved to Prague, Czech Republic, where she worked with Roman Polanski directing the behind the scenes featurette for “Oliver Twist”. Ye’ela moved to Los Angeles to attend the directing program of the American Film Institute Conservatory, where she directed four films, including “The Evening Journey” starring Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Mapel and Jack Kehler.
In 2010 Ye’ela directed the theater show “Ferdinand!” written by former Czech president Vaclav Havel. The show received raving reviews and kept running through 2011. Ye’ela’s film “Just in Case” opened at the Palm Springs Intl’ ShortFest and screened in film festivals worldwide and won multiple awards. In 2016 Ye’ela co-wrote “Jacob’s Dream,” a feature film funded by the co-production program of the Israeli Film Fund. In 2017 Ye’ela directed the acclaimed show “The Physicists,” which opened at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and in 2018 she directed Jean Paul Sartre’s “No Exit,” which ran at the Chromolume Theatre. In 2019 Ye’ela launched her own theatre company “The Social Stage” with a sold out, acclaimed run of Howard Zinn’s “Marx in Soho.” Ye’ela’s Debut feature script “The First Day of Spring ” was developed with the help of Sundance Institute mentors Joan Darling and Gyula Gazdag.

Production Year

2022

Official Website

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