‘My Hero Brother’: A journey to the summit, a journey to the heart

“My Hero Brother” tells the remarkable story of a group of young Israelis with Down syndrome who embark on a demanding trek through the Indian Himalayas, accompanied by their brothers and sisters. As the siblings deal with formidable physical and emotional challenges, unresolved conflicts come to the surface and heart-warming friendships develop. The difficult trails and poignant relationships, set against the richly colorful backdrop of India, open new horizons and greatly deepen the viewer’s understanding of people with special needs and their families. The film will be shown on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center in Providence. A facilitated discussion on the different initiatives for people with special needs in Israel will follow the screening.

Yonatan Nir, the filmmaker, has said that he hopes that the audience members will be inspired. “In all my films, including my previous film ‘Dolphin Boy,’ for example, I tend to choose protagonists whose lives are not perfectly fine. I like it when a film is following a real process of rehabilitation … In the course of the film, I hope that the viewer will undergo an experience that will change his way of looking at the main characters: not as ill-fated people who have been given a chance to experience a brief release from suffering, but rather as human beings blessed with qualities many of us yearn to have, struggling with their limitations in an highly admirable and courageous way, with the ability to open the hearts of those around them and turn them into better human beings.” This is an award-winning film, having received many prizes in Israel and elsewhere, including both the audience prize and the best documentary prize at the 2017 Santa Barbara Film Festival.

February is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month and the film is being shown across the U.S. It is filled with music by Ehud Banai, a leading Israeli singer and songwriter. The screening on Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. at the Alliance’s Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., is free as part of the community’s Israel at 70 celebration. Dialogue is mostly in Hebrew, with English subtitles. For more information, contact Tslil Reichman, the community shlichah, at treichman@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, or visit jewishallianceri.org/israel-70 for a full list of events.

LARRY KATZ (lkatz@jewishallianceri.org) is director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.