Jewboy, which screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year, announces the abundant talent of director Tony Krawitz. Set in the Chassidic community of Sydney, it concerns a young man named Yuri, recently returned from Israel, who turns his back on his strict Chassidic community. He yearns to experience freedoms that are forbidden according to his religion.

Yuri is losing faith, and feels trapped and frustrated by the restrictions placed on him. He rejects his former girlfriend and starts driving taxis, much to the chagrin of those close to him. Soon he falls for Sarita, a Fijian-Indian woman who washes the taxis, but in his confused and wilful search for intimacy he misreads the nature of their relationship. This same search leads him further from his community and into an unsavoury world of porn shops and peepshows, but as he soon realises, the bonds of community are strong.

A sensitively observed exploration of the tension between traditional values and modern life in Australia, Jewboy is a brave piece of cinema. It will screen with two of Krawitz's shorts: Into the Night and Unit #52.

Tony Krawitz will be attending the festival.