IFFAM | Israeli director wants to show complex plot in conservative cities

Ofir Raul Graizer

The Cakemaker” – a film directed by Ofir Raul Graizer –  is a movie that tackles religion, grief and hidden love, shown through a slight political lens.

The film, which was part of the competition segment of the 2nd International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM) – is about a young German baker, Thomas, and an Israeli widow, Anat, who both grieve for an Israeli businessman named Oren.

Oren, a married man from Israel frequently traveled to Germany on business. When Oren dies in a car crash in Israel, Thomas travels to Jerusalem seeking answers about his death.

Hiding his romantic relationship with Oren, Thomas infiltrates the life of Oren’s widow Anat who owns a small café in the city, where he starts to work for her.

Graizer, when speaking to local press, admitted that directing the movie also required a sensitive approach – but at the same time, it was a daring move since the Israeli director grew up in a world of both religious and secular conservatism.

“What I tried to do is to make this topic [religion] a part of the story but in the background. […] [I] let the characters consider religion in their own way,” he said.

The movie, which was reviewed as a blend of “old-school melodrama and contemporary identity politics” depicts the pain of the characters with empathy.

Graizer directed “The Cakemaker” as a unique story of same-sex romance that recognizes a human being’s sexuality, desire, and emotional need.

“Even though they have this concept on religion and lifestyle, and belief, they are eventually human beings and they find a way to remain human despite the difference,” the director said of his characters.

Inspired by a true story, Graizer explained that his friend, who had passed away, lived a double life, as he was married, had children – yet had an affair with a man.

“It’s actually a story which is happening today in liberal cultures. […] There are still people who are living a double life because of family, social and religious [matters]. It’s still happening,” explained the filmmaker.

When exploring the line between fiction and reality in his film, Graizer noted that the context of the movie was factual, while the elements in the film – food, and the connection between Israel and Berlin, blurs more into the realm of fiction, although still draws upon his experiences.

Questioned by the Times whether there were hesitations in screening the film in the region due to sensitive topics that it portrayed, Graizer said that he has always been curious about showing the film in places which might be more conservative.

“What I don’t want to do is to hurt people. […] I didn’t try to make it either nice or provocative. In the end when I look at it, I think it’s quite done in a gentle way,” he commented.

The movie’s ending is relatively open to interpretation, and Graizer remarked, “the idea is to let people find their own way to define who they are.”

“This is what the characters try to do in the film in an unconscious way. They want to be able to exist without defining themselves nationally, religiously and sexuality,” he continued.

It took eight years for the movie to be realized due to funding difficulties, yet the director noted that the movie has been invited to be screened at different regions including the United States, Australia, Spain, Korea and Taiwan.

The director, who is based in both Israel and Germany, is currently working on the script “The Dream Of The Shepherd” – a movie very different from “The Cakemaker” – as it tackles politics, violence and refugees.

Sharing more on “The Cakemaker,” the director admitted, “I think it’s a very political film and has a very political message. It’s something hidden. It’s the first time I’m saying it.”

Graizer also shared that he is developing three more stories, all of which are influenced by what is happening in politics and his personal life.

“Today we live in a world where ideas of human rights or the rights of the refugees have been neglected. They’ve been less valued, while the idea of nationality, religion and patriotism and monarchy are coming back,” he commented.

“The Cakemaker,” which screened at the Macao Cultural Center on Sunday, is Graizer’s first feature film and had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic in June, where it won the Ecumenical Jury Award.