# The Unorthodox

The Unorthodox is an 2018 Israeli drama film directed by Eliran Malka. It marks Malka's feature film debut, known previously as the creator of the TV series Shababnikim. The film's plot is based on the true story of the founding of the Shas political party in the 1980s in Jerusalem. The protagonist, Yaakov Cohen (Shuli Rand), is driven to form a religious political party representing the interests of Sephardic Jews. The incident that drives Cohen is the expulsion of his daughter Heli (Or Lumbrozo) from a Bais Yaakov school, owing to her Sephardic background.The movie opened the 2018 Jerusalem Film Festival.
It also marks Shuli Rand's return to cinema after a 15-year absence from the big screen since his previous role in the film Ushpizin, following his previous role in the acclaimed film Ushpizin.

## Plot

The year is 1983. Yaakov Cohen (played by Shuli Rand) is a widower, the owner of a printing press, and a single father. When his daughter Chali (played by Or Lumbrozo) is expelled from her seminary, he becomes outraged by the discrimination and racism within the educational institutions of Beit Yaakov and Agudat Yisrael, as well as the meager budgets allocated to Sephardic schools. Determined to challenge the status quo, he decides to establish a Sephardic ultra-Orthodox political party to run for the Jerusalem mayoral elections, just two months before the election date.
Joining him are two partners: Yigal Vaknin (played by Yoav Levi), a ritual slaughterer and mohel who is a baal teshuva (a secular Jew who returned to religious observance), and Rabbi Moshe Sharvit (played by Yaakov Cohen). None of them have prior political experience. Against all odds, they succeed in securing a seat on the city council. Later, they launch a list for the national Knesset elections, but over time, Cohen finds his position increasingly marginalized.

## Cast

Shuli Rand - Yaakov Cohen
Yaakov Cohen - Rabbi Moshe Sharvit (based on Rabbi Shlomo Dayan)
Golan Azulai - Rabbi Toledano
Yoav Levi - Yigal Vaknin
Or Lumbrozo - Chali
Shifi Aloni - Yehudit
Tsahi Grad - Menachem Moses
Yigal Naor - Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
Avraham Zgadon - Rabbi Avraham
Dorit Lev-Ari - Principal Rivka Blumenthal
Rivka Gur - Chairwoman of the Hearing Committee

## Awards
### Awards and Nominations

| Year | Organization | Category | Award | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Feature Film | The Unorthodox | Nomination |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Director | Eliran Malka | Nomination |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Leading Actor | Shuli Rand | Nomination |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Supporting Actor | Yoav Levi | Nomination |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Supporting Actress | Shifi Aloni | Nomination |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Original Screenplay | Eliran Malka | Nomination |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Editing | Eric Lahav Leibovitch | Win |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Casting | Michal Koren | Nomination |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Soundtrack | Gil Toren, Avi Mizrahi, Vitali Grinshpon | Nomination |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Original Music | Ophir Leibovitch | Nomination |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Artistic Design | Idan Dolev | Win |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Cinematography | Yaron Scharf | Nomination |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Makeup | Orly Ronen, Sigalit Grau | Win |
| 2019 | Ophir Awards Ceremony 2019 | Feature Film | Best Costume Design | Chava Levi Rozelsky | Win |