The Camel Coat
SHORT FILM · 16 MIN · COLOR · HEBREW · ISRAEL
Logline
Maryam Baum, an American tourist in Jerusalem moves through the city with easy confidence.
Synopsis
After a brief encounter with a woman in a Zara fitting room, Maryam fixates on what she believes it meant.
When she later finds the woman’s lost wallet, Maryam decides to return it herself. She refuses to leave it with staff or the police.
The search pulls her across the city. A taxi ride, a swallowed bank card, and one impulsive decision compounds the effort. Each step tightens her commitment.
By the time Maryam reaches her destination, the gesture is complete, but nothing unfolds the way she imagined.
Director’s Statement
I came to Israel wanting to do good and to belong, believing that intention could stand in for understanding. Like Maryam, I learned how easy it is to act empathetic, and how much harder it is to recognize when that impulse is self serving.
The Camel Coat follows a moral gesture taken seriously and carried through. The film is less interested in judgment than in exposure. It looks at the distance between who we believe ourselves to be and what our actions quietly reveal when no one responds as we hoped.
The visual language reflects Maryam’s internal certainty. The film begins with controlled framing and clear direction, mirroring her confidence and sense of purpose. As that certainty erodes, the world presses closer, and the frame allows more interruption, friction, and imbalance. Meaning emerges not through resolution, but through the simple act of seeing what remains once the gesture is complete.
Film Details
Subtitles
Aspect Ratio
Format
Year
English
1.33:1
Digital · Color
2026
Credits
Writer and Director
Producer
Cast
Yocheved Feinerman
Raz Kotik
Meryl Litwin
Aviv Musli
Adan Matar
Director of Photography
Editor
Institutional Production Support
Dmitry Savinov
Alexandra Koroleva
Minshar School of Art, Tel Aviv
Gallery
