"The Israeli creation is the best in the world": the director of "Maestro" reveals the behind the scenes Israel today

Quite a few local works have received remakes in the last 15 years, and now it's the turn of "Footnote", Yosef Sider's Oscar-nominated film from 2011, starring Lior Ashkenazi and Shlomo Baraba, which is getting a French version called "Maestro".

However, at the very beginning of the conversation with him, the French-Jewish director Bruno Shisch wants to emphasize that his film is not a faithful adaptation of Seder's film.

"I really like 'Footnote,'" he says with a smile.

"It's exciting in my eyes, and I was definitely inspired by it. But apart from its starting point, which describes an unfortunate misunderstanding that creates tension between a father and son, we can say that there are significant differences between the films."

The biggest difference between "Maestro" and its Israeli origin stems from Hays' decision to copy the story from the academic world of Talmud research to the world of classical music.

French-Jewish actor Yvan Attal plays Danny, a 50-year-old Parisian orchestra conductor with a thriving career, while veteran star (and also Jewish) Pierre Arditti plays his father, François, a respected conductor whose prime is behind him.

At the beginning of the film, Francois mistakenly gets the impression that he was chosen to be the conductor of the prestigious and famous Italian opera house "La Scala", but the invitation was intended for his son.

The son is afraid to tell him the truth, and from there things only get more complicated.

"In the beginning, I wrote a script that dealt with two historians," clarifies Shish, "but I rewrote it after a good friend told me that a similar case happened to her husband and her husband's father, who are both orchestra conductors. As soon as she told me that, I immediately saw before my eyes the film I wanted to make , and more importantly - I also heard him."

Bruno there is.

"This is a very personal film for me", photo: Lev Cinema

In your version, the focus is on the character of the son and his relationship with his son.

"Very true. I wanted to show how the case affects Danny's life and puts him in turmoil. He is afraid to tell his father the truth, and this creates problems for him with his ex-wife, with his current partner and with his son. The character that Ivan Atal plays is actually me. This is a story My life. I'm also 50 years old, I'm also afraid of my future and the future of my career. This is a very personal film for me. It's actually a conversation between me and my father and between my son. That was the idea, at least."

The classical music in the film plays an important role, and is almost a character in itself.

"I don't know if I would say that the music is a character in itself, but it definitely sets the tone, and it was important to me that it reflect the state of mind of Danny and François. I love classical music, and I invested a lot of time and effort in choosing the pieces that make up the soundtrack. The musical world is Basically the only place where the father and son can really talk and communicate with each other."

After "Footnote" provided you with the inspiration for "Maestro", are there any other Israeli works that may provide you with inspiration for future projects?

"First of all, I really like Israeli cinema, and in my opinion the Israeli series are the best series in the world. As for your question, the truth is that I was friends with the late Ronit Alkabatz, and we once had a conversation in which I told her the story of my life.

My father came to France from Algeria, my mother came from Western Europe, and Ronit told me 'Bruno, I understand now why you are stressed and scared sometimes.

It's because of the tension you have between the Ashkenazi and Mizrachi sides.'

She told me I had to make a film about it, to try to understand it and deal with it.

It could definitely be my next film.

If I do it, I will dedicate it to Ronit."

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