Rotem Kapelinsky

LOGLINE

Seeking salvation, an ultra-Orthodox homosexual entrusts his fate to a contentious psychologist, becoming the centrepiece of an ethically dubious virtual reality conversion experiment.

SYNOPSIS

Nathan Sheinfeld, an ultra-Orthodox Jew from New York, deeply loves his family, his job, and God, but loathes himself. Seeking redemption following another clandestine homosexual encounter, he journeys to Jerusalem to find Josh Sokolovsky, a controversial therapist who once helped him with his perversion, but has since disappeared.
Josh, who now utilizes innovative ""kosher"" VR sessions featuring female avatars to teach Yeshiva students about future marital intimacy, refuses to treat Nathan again. However, recognizing Nathan's profound distress, he proposes a temporary solution: Nathan can join his clinic as a female avatar, which Josh believes might offer him some solace.
While Nathan finds some peace in his new role, Josh rekindles his lifelong mission to “cure” homosexuality and employs an ethically dubious conversion therapy on Nathan within the virtual realm, without his consent or knowledge.
When Nathan uncovers that he has been unwittingly made a test subject, he chooses not to flee. Driven by a burning desire for ""rectification"", Nathan is even prepared to face death.

WRITER'S STATEMENT

״The Subject״ occurs ״later today״ and captures my greatest fear- that we are marching toward a world where tools from the future will be used to impose values from a biblical past, and cloud the present with dystopian shades.
In the sphere between man, technology, and religion, ״The Subject״ deals with redemption" as a seductive but dangerous concept, that is centered both on religious thought and secular enchantment with innovation.
Nathan, the protagonist, is so determined to correct himself that he rejects a stable and loving life with Deborah his wife, and entrusts himself to Josh who offers him a religious, psychological, and technological solution, proving that under the promise of correction and redemption, these tools from such doctrines are not contradictory, but rather merge into a single and dangerous struggle. The "conversion therapy" Nathan undergoes not only raises questions about our ability to reshape a person but primarily whether we have the moral right to develop such tools.
The plot unfolds through the perspectives of the three characters, capturing religious and patriarchal tension; Josh is the father, Deborah is the mother and Nathan is the torn son.
Set in a fluid world where old and new, masculine and feminine, real and virtual converge, the series' visual style blends gaming and realistic drama to craft a layered aesthetic, ethical, and emotional landscape.
Spanning science fiction, psychological thriller, and intimate drama, The Subject invites viewers to walk the fine line between redemption and destruction, offering a human solution that does not seek to change people or use powerful tools, but only the power of love and acceptance of people as they are.

PRODUCER'S STATEMENT

״The Subject״ occurs ״later today״ and captures my greatest fear- that we are marching toward a world where tools from the future will be used to impose values from a biblical past, and cloud the present with dystopian shades.
In the sphere between man, technology, and religion, ״The Subject״ deals with redemption" as a seductive but dangerous concept, that is centered both on religious thought and secular enchantment with innovation.
Nathan, the protagonist, is so determined to correct himself that he rejects a stable and loving life with Deborah his wife, and entrusts himself to Josh who offers him a religious, psychological, and technological solution, proving that under the promise of correction and redemption, these tools from such doctrines are not contradictory, but rather merge into a single and dangerous struggle. The "conversion therapy" Nathan undergoes not only raises questions about our ability to reshape a person but primarily whether we have the moral right to develop such tools.
The plot unfolds through the perspectives of the three characters, capturing religious and patriarchal tension; Josh is the father, Deborah is the mother and Nathan is the torn son.
Set in a fluid world where old and new, masculine and feminine, real and virtual converge, the series' visual style blends gaming and realistic drama to craft a layered aesthetic, ethical, and emotional landscape.
Spanning science fiction, psychological thriller, and intimate drama, The Subject invites viewers to walk the fine line between redemption and destruction, offering a human solution that does not seek to change people or use powerful tools, but only the power of love and acceptance of people as they are.

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