The musical and soul-searching journey of Gabriel Belhassan, musician, former orthodox Jew and recently diagnosed with manic depression. After being released from a mental institution he began working on a solo album. But leaving his family and moving to Tel Aviv frightens him – the urban solitude, pressure, disturbed sleep and totality of the music bring on the disease again. His manic attacks have him standing on the brink of sanity, reaching out to God, just as he did when he was a child. Refusing to give up, he struggles to finish the album and receive the artistic acclaim he so desperately wishes for.


Wandering Eyes

doc, 55 min, 2010

Directed by: Ofir Trainin
Produced by: Shahar Ben-Hur
Sponsored by: Keshet Channel 2 Israel & the New Israeli Foundation for Cinema and Television

DVD - For Home Use Only :
$29.90

Synopsis


 The musical and soul-searching journey of Gabriel Belhassan, musician, former orthodox Jew and recently diagnosed with manic depression. After being released from a mental institution he began working on a solo album. But leaving his family and moving to Tel Aviv frightens him – the urban solitude, pressure, disturbed sleep and totality of the music bring on the disease again. His manic attacks have him standing on the brink of sanity, reaching out to God, just as he did when he was a child. Refusing to give up, he struggles to finish the album and receive the artistic acclaim he so desperately wishes for.


Awards

  • Best Documentary for a Promising Young Director - Israel Documentary Forum Awards, 2010
  • Best Original Score - Israel Documentary Forum Awards, 2010
  • Best Film Award - Docaviv International Film Festival, 2010.

Festivals

  • Transit International Documentary Film Festival, Poland, 2011
  • FIPA-Biarritz, France 2011
  • Reelabilities Film Festival, New York, 2011
  • DocAviv Official Competition , May 2010

Additional info

Gallery

Press & Links:

  •  Ofir Trainin’s documentary “Wandering Eyes” implicitly commands the viewer to empathize with Gavriel Balachsan, Israel’s self-proclaimed “next big thing” in rock, as he loses big-thing status with his downward slide into the mire of manic depression.
    For the entire review by Jordana Horn/Forward, check  http://www.forward.com/articles/135240/

Festivals

  • Transit International Documentary Film Festival, Poland, 2011
  • FIPA-Biarritz, France 2011
  • Reelabilities Film Festival, New York, 2011
  • DocAviv Official Competition , May 2010

Educational

  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Harvard University
  • Arizona State University

Awards

  • Best Documentary for a Promising Young Director - Israel Documentary Forum Awards, 2010
  • Best Original Score - Israel Documentary Forum Awards, 2010
  • Best Film Award - Docaviv International Film Festival, 2010.