David Volach

A semi-autobiographical portrait of an Israeli director grappling with creative block as he tries to bring his second feature to fruition. What was supposed to be a personal and heart-warming script about his journey from an ultra-orthodox upbringing in Jerusalem to a secular life in Tel Aviv turns into an obsessive manifesto containing thousands of pages and hundreds of hours of voice recordings dealing with Jewish identity, its problems, and possible solutions.

"My Father My Lord" is an intimate and deeply disturbing story of the conflict between a father's love and his deep devotion to religion. A respected Orthodox Rabbi dotes on his only son but his religious strictures leave an emotional gap between the impish child and the stern father. When the father's all-consuming obsession with observing religious ritual inadvertently leads to tragedy, his previously subservient wife rages against both her husband and God. A dramatic retelling of the story of Abraham.