Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life (2018)
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Country:
Israel, Germany
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Duration:
106 min
- Program:
- Type:
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Genre:
biography
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Director:
Tomer Heymann
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Producer:
Barak Heymann, Tomer Heymann
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Cast:
Jonathan Agassi
About film
34-year-old Jonathan Agassi is backstage with his penis out. He then comes onstage and takes part in a hardcore porn show. Jonathan talks on camera with documentary filmmaker Tomer Heymann (the author of the successful documentary Mr. Gaga about Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin) about his father, who left the family and went to Berlin, and now seeks contact with his son - and suddenly falls asleep like a narcoleptic. It is his protective response to the dark memories. Another thing that saves Jonathan is his screen image - Agassi - which has made him famous as one of the most successful actors of gay pornography in the world.
But what interests director Tomer Heymann, who values working with restless souls, is not the naked male body (although gay sex does make it on screen) but the inner world of his subject. Agassi travels to Israel and shows his award-winning films to his mother, but stops them when they reach the sex part. Then he poses for her wearing female lace underwear with stockings and garters. In his life, there were periods of working as a male escort, taking drugs, and harbouring thoughts about transitioning, but the traumas of the past haven’t healed, and even when Jonathan comes to porn auditions, he still tells partners about his father.
Rewards and nominations
- 35th Jerusalem Film Festival - Best Israeli Documentary Film
- 35th Jerusalem Film Festival - Best Editing
- 43rd annual Atlanta Film Festival - Special Jury Award
- Outview Film Festival - Best Documentary
- IDFA - Official Selection
- CPH:DOX - Official Selection
- Thessaloniki Documentary Festival - Official Selection
- BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival - Official Selection
Director
Born in Israel in 1970, Tomer Heymann has been directing documentary films and series since 1997. He screened and won awards at international film festivals, such as Berlinale, Hot Docs, IDFA and LAFF. His films have been theatrically released around the world, making him one of the documentary film industry's leading directors.
Along with
- Category:
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Speaker:
Anna Langer, Tomer Haymann
Along with
- Category:
-
Speaker:
Anna Langer, Tomer Haymann
Trailer
Director
Born in Israel in 1970, Tomer Heymann has been directing documentary films and series since 1997. He screened and won awards at international film festivals, such as Berlinale, Hot Docs, IDFA and LAFF. His films have been theatrically released around the world, making him one of the documentary film industry's leading directors.