Footnote

Nominated for Best Foreign Film, Footnote is the tale of a great rivalry between a father and son. Eliezer (Bar Aba) and Uriel (Ashkenazi) Shkolnik are both eccentric professors who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies—Jewish civil and ceremonial law and legend. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. Meanwhile his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field who appears to feed on accolades, endlessly seeking recognition. Then one day, the tables turn. When Eliezer learns that he is to be awarded the Israel Prize, the most valuable honor for scholarship in the country, his vanity and desperate need for validation are exposed. His son, Uriel, is thrilled to see his father's achievements finally recognized but, in a darkly funny twist, is forced to choose between the advancement of his own career and his father's. (Gary Reber)