Two young people with disabilities become star reporters in this uplifting documentary. Efrat Dotan is 27 years old and has Down syndrome. 20 year old Matanel Bitton has developmental disabilities. Efrat and Matanel spend their days at SHALVA-The Association for Mentally & Physically Challenged Children in Israel where they are taught life skills that enable them to reach their maximum potential. They have interviewed many well-known personalities but their dream is to interview President Barak Obama. We follow them on a journey as they pursue their dream and allow us a peek into their unique world.
Awards
- Silver Remi Award – WorldFest Houston, USA, 2013
Festivals
- Greater Rochester Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2014
- Jewish Mostifs Film Festival, Poland, 2014
- Denver Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2014
- Calgary Jewish Film Festival, Canada, 2013
Additional info
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Filmmaker Nitzan Rozenberg’s Special Interview profiles Israeli cub reporters Efrat Dotan, who has Down’s syndrome, and Matanel Bitton, who has developmental disabilities. Trained by the Association for Mentally & Physically Challenged Children in Israel (SHALVA) and employed in a joint project between SHALVA and Ynetnews, the young journalists have interviewed many prominent personalities, including Israel’s President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now the pair have set their sights on Barack Obama.While the behind-the-scenes material is disappointing, Efrat’s eloquence, charisma, and disarming conversational style serve well here to offset stereotypes. Recommended, overall. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg, The Video Librarian, 2013).
For the entire review check: http://www.videolibrarian.com/othervideo.html#Anchor-34560
The extraordinarily entertaining film, directed by Nitzan Rozenberg and produced by Reshet, chronicles their journey, two years ago, to get an interview with President Barack Obama and plead for him to secure Gilad Schalit’s release. The fact that the two 20-somethings are developmentally disabled is a central part of the story, but it isn’t the entire story.
For the entire review by Hannan Brown/The Jerusalem Post,
check: http://www.jpost.com/Arts-and-Culture/Arts/Special-Interview-is-exceptional-entertainment-326288