Short film by Emily Cheeger, 2020 — IMDb.

Recently premiered at the 2020 Toronto Jewish Film Festival and won the 1st annual Lishma Prize for Best Short Film!!

“Tzadeikis” (“Holy Woman”) 20min, Yiddish with English subtitles

After partaking of a fish at a rebbe’s reception that kills him when he chokes on a bone, Neshama, a young woman in Hasidic Boro Park, finds herself possessed. As her body and self begin to transform under this supernatural influence, her life and her community's status quo are turned upside down. Darkly humorous yet compassionate, performed in authentic Hasidic Yiddish (with English subtitles), the heart of the story is informed by finer points of Jewish law regulating female voices and male beards. Prepare for a wild ride!

CAST & CREW

Starring Luzer Twersky & Melissa Weisz

Writer & Director: Emily Cheeger

Produced by Ashley George

Director of Photography: Alfonso Jaramillo Gomez

Production Design: Margaux Maeght

Animations: Mike Anderson of New Media Ltd

Color: Company 3

Composer: Miriam Mayer