Offspring

A 32-year-old woman from an Israeli Sephardic community is childless but under constant pressure from her relatives demanding offsprings. She and her grandmother accidentally find themselves at the circumcision of a little child, and there someone tells her about a tradition quite strange to the outsiders: if a woman who cannot get pregnant eats the foreskin of a baby, life will take a turn for the better. Israeli director Shirley Sasson-Ezer shows intergenerational relationships that are full of love and are devoid of aggression and yet are still complicated by the insurmountable obstacles of differences in worldviews.

Directed by Shirly Sasson-Ezer, Dana Keidar-Levin, Offspring leans on a strong ensemble — Rotem Zissman-Cohen, Dover Koshashvili, Hefsigul Usherova-Shmuelova — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about comedy titles of 2019.