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The Handball Coach

Sivan Noam Shimon

Producer

Benny Fredman

Lab Edition

12

,

2024

Production

Red Films LTD

Country

Israel

SYNOPSIS

The moment when Yael "the Bulldozer" Cherni (32) scored the winning goal in the European Handball Championship defined the peak of her career. But it also crushed her knee and left her with excruciating pain and the nickname. The doctors say her career is over, her partner Nofar (30) pleads her to move on, but Yael feels belittled. The only one who believes in her is Sari (17), a troubled goalkeeper in the youth team Yael coaches. Around her, Yael feels strong, worthy, and admired once again. The relationship between the two takes an unexpected dimension.

DIRECTOR'S NOTE

I was an athlete and the feeling of "I'm a badass" became a key part of my being. Thus, I set out to write a story of a woman who doesn't know who she is without her strength and will do anything to stay on the court. I chose handball, not such a popular sport, and the peripheral town Or-Yehuda, to express the perception that women’s sports are marginal. Hence, many female athletes don't get the appreciation or financial support like their male counterparts. For people who come from marginalized populations, sports can be life changing, if not as a career, then in a "I'm a badass" state of mind.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

Sivan Noam Shimon is a writer, director and actress, graduate from Steve Tisch School of Film and Television at Tel-Aviv University. Her short film Wake Up Call won several film festivals around the world. She won the Best Actress award at Haifa international Film Festival for her leading role in the film Blush. She acted in the American film Ma Belle, My Beauty, which won the Audience award at Sundance Film Festival. Shimon was a programmer at TLVFest and teaches screenwriting at Minshar Art College. Currently, Shimon is developing her first feature film.

PRODUCER

Benny Fredman

Benny Fredman studied film at Camera Obscura. His works include Netflix's "Suicide", the TV series "Suspect", Ophir Award-winning film "Home" and the documentary films "Poogy-Tales" and "Moving the Embassy".

​PRODUCTION COMPANY PROFILE

○ Red Films LTD, Jerusalem
○ +972-543474448
benif123@gmail.com

​PRODUCTION BUDGET

○ Total budget: 1,100,000 USD
○ Confirmed budget and source: 175,000 USD by Amir Gedalya productions LTD

LANGUAGE

Hebrew

GENRE

Drama

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