Israel, 1965. As his country grows up without him, an uncertain boy teeters on the edge of manhood and tragedy.

At 13 years old, Aharon (Roee Elsberg) doesn't want to grow up. Small for his age, berated at home and lost in an Israel itself only just beginning to find its feet, the prospect of his approaching bar mitzvah fills him with an abiding existential dread. With his family collapsing around him and the girl he loves gradually being drawn to his more adult best friend, Gideon, the endless infractions of this stifling existence drive Aharon toward a final, irrevocable act.

Intimate Grammar is the latest offering from acclaimed Israeli writer/director Nir Bergman (Broken Wings, MIFF 2003), a carefully wrought and ultimately tragic study of loneliness held aloft by a startlingly nuanced performance from the young Elsberg.

Winner of the Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

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D/S Nir Bergman P Assaf Amir WS Films Boutique L Hebrew w/English subtitles TD 35mm/2010