<< Return to All Films | Sinopsis en Español
Closing Night Presentation + After Party
Ariel has left his past behind. After growing up in the close-knit Jewish community of Buenos Aires he has built a new and to all appearances successful metropolitan life as an economist in New York.
He has come back to his native city to meet his distant father Usher, but for days they miss one another as Usher continues to issue instructions to Ariel for a plethora of errands. Usher’s life mission, often to the detriment of his family, is the running of a Jewish aid foundation in El Once, the old Jewish neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Ariel is drawn back into the community and the very role his father plays in it. Along the way, his New York existence is gradually stripped away. After a few days, literally standing in the clothes that he once wore, he meets Eva, a mute, intriguing woman who works at the foundation.
Not coincidentally, Ariel’s visit coincides with Purim, a holiday commemorating the salvation of the Jewish diaspora from annihilation. It is a day of rejoicing in face of the averted disaster, a humorous, carnivalesque occasion that forms the subtext for a comedy of errors of missed and found people and connections, and a rumination on the extent to which we can ever really leave our past behind.
Título: El rey del Once
Ariel (Alan Sabbagh), un economista entrado en años, deja su cómoda (y enmohecida) vida en New York para visitar a su padre para la fiesta del Purín, y rápidamente entra en el torbellino que es la vida de su padre como director de una organización de caridad ubicada en el vibrante barrio judío “El Once”. Escuchado pero nunca visto, el respetable anciano guía a su hijo a través de las cada vez más enloquecidas rondas por el barrio mediante el teléfono celular, ayudando a los vecinos más pobres con sus necesidades y reclutando a la bella y tímida Eva (Julieta Zylberberg, Historias Salvajes), una Ortodoxa que asiste al ignorante Ariel a manejarse en la ciudad, hacia algo más importante que él mismo. El escritor y director Daniel Burman (El abrazo partido) continua en esta irónica comedia del pasaje a la edad madura su exploración de las vidas y tensiones entre padres e hijos. Filmada en un estilo libre, quasi-documental por Daniel Ortega, “El Once” es una tierna y atractiva oda a la importancia de la comunidad y la familia y demuestra que regresar a nuestras raíces podría, finalmente, llevar a encontrarnos a nosotros mismos.
Press
"A low-key charmer...With a twist of Buenos Aires thrown into the mix."- The Los Angeles Times
Director Biography
Director, producer, and screenwriter. Burman is a founding member of the Academy of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts of Argentina. He is considered one of the most important Argentine filmmakers of his time, with great success both at home and internationally.
Burman has directed eleven films and has produced more than seventeen movies. Throughout his work, he consistently utilizes the artistic touch and sophistication needed to explore existential issues with authenticity, always adopting a light yet profound tone at the same time.
He has been awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival; Grand Prix of Public in Biarritz; FIPRESCI Prize at Valladolid; Coral Prize in Havana; Audience Award, Iberoamerican Film and SIGNIS, in Mar del Plata. In recognition of his humanitarian vision, Burman was awarded the Robert Bresson Award at the Venice Film Festival, an honor he shares with Wim Wenders, Alexander Sokurov and Manoel Oliveira. In 2008 he received the Achievement Award from the Israel Cinematheque during the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival. In 2011 he received the Visionary Award, from the Washington Jewish Community Center at Washington International Jewish Film Festival.
Press
"A low-key charmer...With a twist of Buenos Aires thrown into the mix."- The Los Angeles Times