Isreali filmmaker Amos Gitai leaped to international prominence with this handsomely photographed, beautifully acted morality tale through which the power struggle between the lives of secular and religious Jews the world over is dramatically brought to light. Set in the Mea Sherim quarter of Jerusalem, an enclave of the ultra-Orthodox, "Kadosh" explores a hermetic world almost never seen on the screen. Here for ten years the pious Rivka has devoted herself to her husband Meir, but their marriage remains childless. Presumed barren, she is rejected by her community, which prizes children above all else. The story that follows relates the harrowing fate of Rivka, and also her beloved sister Malka, who is in love with a young man who has fled the community to lead a secular life.

Yaël Abecassis, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Meital Barda, Yoram Hattab, Sami Hori, Uri Ran-Klausner