In Treatment

Imagine you are in therapy and your shrink is a thoughtful, badly dressed bear of a man who resembles Israeli actor Assi Dayan. Then imagine that when the transference and countertransference are flying so fast you can see trails, your shrink goes to talk to his shrink—who happens to be the all-knowing Israeli grande dame of cinema, Gila Almagor. Are you dreaming? No, you’re enjoying the afterglow of Israel’s brilliant television series In Treatment (B’Tipul), which was watched raptly by millions of dysfunctional Israelis. Later it was sold to HBO for a remake in the U.S. where millions of equally dysfunctional Americans—certainly half of New York City and at least one of your former shrinks—tuned in to see what it’s like for other people to go to therapy. Each week you could watch five clients on the couch: a gorgeous woman afraid of commitment (Ayelet Zurer); a hunky pilot (and reticent analysand) with guilty thoughts about bombing in the Occupied Territory (Lior Ashkenazi); a teenage girl who is a champion swimmer and perfectionist (Maya Maron); a couple who have tried to get pregnant so long with fertility treatments that the romance is gone (Rami Heuberger and Alma Zack); and, finally, the shrink with self doubts (Dayan) who seeks guidance from his old therapist (Almagor). We will be showing five episodes of the talented Hagai Levy’s delightful homage to psychology, which Israeli daily Ma’ariv called “the closest thing to literature to be found on TV.”

Born in Haifa, Israel, in 1969, Director Nir Bergman moved with his family to Ein Hod, an artists village in 1983. He specialized in artistic photography at the WIZO high school. In 1987 he began serving with the Israeli Defense Forces. Nir studied at the Tel Aviv University in the Liberal Arts program and took part in the actors workshop led by Roberto Polak. In 1996 Nir received the Miki Albin prize for best short script for Sea Horse (Sus Yam) at the International Haifa Film Festival. Director Bergman graduated from the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School - Jerusalem in 1998. His film SEA HORSES is his diploma film. FILMOGRAPHY Aquarium, 1994, video, 4 minutes. One Perfect Rose, 1996, 9 minutes.