An Israeli woman (Ronit Elkabetz) seeking to finalize a divorce (gett) from her estranged husband finds herself effectively put on trial by her country’s religious marriage laws, in GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM, a powerhouse courtroom drama from sibling directors Shlomi and Ronit Elkabetz. Laemmle Theatres opens the film at the Royal on February 13, the Playhouse, Town Center 5 and Claremont 5 on February 20 and the NoHo 7 on February 27.
In Israel, there is neither civil marriage nor civil divorce; only Orthodox rabbis can legalize a union or its dissolution, which is only possible with the husband’s full consent. Women can’t contact an LA divorce lawyer, for example, to end the marriage it has to be the husband who makes the decision. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Viviane Amsalem has been applying for a divorce for three years but her religiously devout husband Elisha, continually refuses. His cold intransigence, Viviane’s determination to fight for her freedom, and the ambiguous role of the rabbinical judges shape a procedure where tragedy vies with absurdity and everything is brought out into the open for judgment.
What’s more, as reported by Indiewire, the film is having real-world effects in Israel, prompting religious authorities to reevaluate their positions on divorce. Check out this short interview with the filmmakers reacting to the news:
, a definitive history and account of the Fiddler phenomenon. You won’t want to miss Barbara and her stories!
The Academy’s Documentary Branch narrowed the field to 15 from 134 submissions. While we’ve already screened many films, some are still in theaters, and five will play as morning shows over the next few weeks. By the time nominations are announced, every film on the shortlist will have played at one or more of our theaters… for those keeping track! For those not located near our theatres, thankfully, a few streaming sites are showing some of these films. However, there are usually different location restrictions on some of these sites, such as Netflix. Of course, one of the most common ways to watch films that are restricted is by purchasing a VPN. Some are better than others, but there are reviewing websites online allowing users to 
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