San Francisco Release of Israeli Film "Zero Motivation"
A zany, dark, & comedic portrait of everyday life for a unit of young, female Israeli soldiers.
A dark comedy portraying the power struggles of three female secretaries at a remote army base in the Israeli desert, ZERO MOTIVATION is a Zeitgeist Films release, runs for 100 minutes, is in Hebrew with English subtitles, and is not yet MPAA rated.
Zohar and Daffi are best friends serving in the same administration office at an artillery base in the south of Israel. And since both don’t really get along with others, they spend all their time together, sharing their thoughts, secrets, and passion for tabletop computer games. Daffi hates the secluded desert base and desperately tries to get transferred to Tel Aviv, the big city. Zohar doesn’t seem to care much about the location; her main concern is losing her virginity. She is terrified by the possibility of being left alone without her friend in the desolated base and is willing to take action to prevent Daffi from leaving. One person who wouldn’t mind if the two are separated is Rama, their highly motivated officer in charge, who fears that the counterproductive harmony of the two might indirectly hurt her chances to get promoted.
Through the story of these young women soldiers, ZERO MOTIVATION provides a comic-tragic glimpse into the Israeli militaristic society, depicting a real and surreal, humorous and gloomy journey inside a maze of military bureaucracy.
ZERO MOTIVATION won six Ophir Awards (Israeli Academy Awards) including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress.
Winner – Best Narrative Feature – Tribeca Film Festival 2014.
About Talya Lavie (Director/Writer)
Talya Lavie is a director, screenwriter, and comics artist. She studied animation at the Bezalel Art Academy and graduated with merit from the Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem. She authored screenplays for various television dramas. Her short film SLIDING FLORA screened at New York City’s MoMA and in over 40 film festivals worldwide. Her thesis film THE SUBSTITUTE received several international awards, notably the Audience Award in the Berlinale, the first prize in the Munich International Short Film Festival and the first prize in the Melbourne International Film Festival. ZERO MOTIVATION participated in the Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Lab. It is Talya’s first feature film.
