SYNONYMS
Narrative Feature | 123 minutes

HIFF 2018

 World Cinema Narrative

Directed by
Nadav Lapid

Produced by
Saïd Ben Saïd, Michel Merkt

Written by
Nadav Lapid, Haïm Lapid

Featuring
Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte

2019 | French/Hebrew | France/Israel/Germany

Yoav (Tom Mercier) arrives in Paris in search of a new beginning. An Israeli ex-soldier, Yoav now vocally denounces his connection to his home country, refusing to speak his native tongue and believing that his future lies in full immersion into French society. Jobless, penniless, and finding his belongings stolen in the middle of the night, Yoav is taken in by a wealthy, young French couple with a curious fascination for the erratic behavior of their new housemate. Loosely based on his own experiences as an expat, Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid’s SYNONYMS is a provocative examination of national identity—wildly unpredictable, formally ambitious, and truly original.