''My Hero Brother'' is a 2016

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by the

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

filmmaker Yonatan Nir. The film tells the story of a group of young people with

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

who embark on a demanding trek through the

Indian Himalayas The Indian Himalayan Region (abbreviated to IHR) is the section of the Himalayas within the Republic of India, spanning seven Indian states and union territories, namely Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West ...

, 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 original soundtrack was written and performed by

Ehud Banai Ehud Banai ( he, אֵהוּד בַּנַּאי; born March 31, 1953) is an Israeli singer and songwriter. Biography Ehud Banai was born in Jerusalem. His father was the actor Yaakov Banai, one of the Banai siblings. The family moved to Givatayim ...

. The film was premiered at the

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...

on 7 February 2017 and won the Best Documentary Film Award and the Audience Choice Award. It also won the Best Documentary Audience Award at the

Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival The Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival (also known as the Gershman Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival (GPJFF)) is an annual film festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States that presents movies and film-related programs about the Jew ...

37.

Background

Enosh Cassel wanted his younger brother Hanan to experience the travel to parts unknown undertaken by many young Israelis after their army service. "He doesn't speak so well, and it's hard to know what's going on in his daily life when we speak on the phone," he said. "We needed to go through something intensive and then I could understand what life is like for him right now." That first trip "wasn’t easy but was great," said Cassel. When they returned home and were interviewed by Channel 2, there was a wave of reaction from others with siblings with

Down Syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. "We got a lot of reactions," said Cassel. "And we understood that we'd done something very positive that awakened all kinds of impressions." When Itamar Peleg, the owner of Travelog, a tour company specializing in unusual journeys, ontacted Cassel, the two began planning a trip for 22 siblings, 11 pairs. They spent two years planning the trip, handling the bureaucracy, crowdfunding and bringing together the group for regular meetings in order to get to know one another.

Production

On 10 August, 22 siblings, three film crew members and a physician left Tel Aviv for

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. A week later, the high-altitude trek began from Lohajung, about from

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, capital of

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

, to

Bedni Bugyal Bedni Bugyal is a Himalayan Alpine meadow and a hill station , situated at an elevation of in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state of India. Bedni Bugyal falls on the way to Roopkund near Wan village. Trisul and Nanda Ghunti Nanda G ...

. On 10 October 2013, they reached their destination. It was in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

where the peaks reach to altitudes above . The team members cheered, hugged each other, pitched the Israeli national flag and posed for photographs. The film was released in Israel on 11 July 2016.

Accolades

The film won the

2017 Best Documentary Film Award and the Audience Choice Award. ''My Hero Brother'' also won the Best Documentary Audience Award at the

37.

References

{{Reflist Israeli documentary films 2016 documentary films 2016 films