Leave of Absence

Meir is a middle-aged history teacher living a quiet suburban life in Israel. After his daughters accidentally bleach his hair, and with a tense family dinner looming, he slips out of the house. A chance encounter with some of his former students then sweeps him into a wild, rebellious night out, and he discovers that it is exactly what he needed. Written and directed by Moshe Rosenthal, this eighteen-minute Israeli short stars Uri Klauzner as Meir, with Michal Bernstein and Tal Blankstein. Leave of Absence earned Rosenthal the Best Director award at the Jerusalem Film Festival and went on to screen at festivals around the world. It is a bittersweet, gently comic story about midlife restlessness, unexpected freedom and the surprising places where a person can find himself again.