Footnote (Blu-ray)

Footnote is the tale of a great rivalry between a father and son. Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies.  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. 
 
Footnote was written and directed by Joseph Cedar. The film was produced by David Mandil, Moshe Edery and Leon Edery.
 
Footnote has a running time of 105 minutes and is rated PG for thematic elements, brief nudity, language and smoking. The film is in Hebrew with English subtitles.

FOOTNOTE, an Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Language film, will be released on Blu-ray™ and DVD on July 24th by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.  The Sony Pictures Classics film is written and directed by Joseph Cedar, whose 2007 film Beaufort was also Oscar®-nominated for Best Foreign Language film. FOOTNOTE is the story of the very complicated, competitive relationship between a father and a son, both of whom are Talmudic scholars. Special features on both versions will include a Q&A with Joseph Cedar, as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the film.
 
In addition to the Oscar® nomination, FOOTNOTE won the Best Screenplay Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay.  It also won nine 2011 Israeli Film Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Shlomo Bar Aba), Best Supporting Actor (Lior Ashkenazi), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Costume Design and Best Sound.  In addition, FOOTNOTE was an official 2011 selection of the Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and the AFI Fest.