Eran Merav’s stunning first feature offers a fresh, razor-sharp perspective on the loving and sometimes fraught relationship between brothers. Set in a working-class suburb of Haifa, this gritty drama (which premiered to much acclaim this year at Sundance) sports a stellar cast, including Ronit Elkabetz as the brothers’ mother, who has hitched her hopes for a better life on an auto shop owner. Fourteen-year-old Zion and his older brother Meir are thick as thieves – that is, when they’re not fighting. When rough play leads to a tragic accident in which an Ethiopian boy is killed, the brothers react differently, and are challenged by thorny questions of loyalty and morality. The pressure of keeping a secret, coupled with Meir’s clashes with their mother’s boyfriend, stretch the bonds of fraternal allegiance almost to the breaking point, where Zion must decides if he is ready to take responsibility for his own life. This remarkably assured début, grounded in rich details about daily life in this neighbourhood, offers us glimpses of a substratum of Israeli society rarely seen on screen.