Synonyms

The director Nadav Lapid gathers together different moments drom his own life and, together with his brother Haim Lapid, creates 'Synonyms', a French-Israeli co-production that tells the story of of a young Israeli boy moving permanently to France.

In Paris, things don't start off well for Yoav (Tom Mercier), a young Israeli who arrives in the French capital with great expectations, intent on getting rid of his nationality as quickly as possible. For him, his country does not represent him and being an Israeli in France is a weight that he must shake off as soon as possible.

Becoming French, on the other hand, would simply mean his own salvation. In an attempt to block out everything that has to do with his origins, Yoav first decides not to speak a single word of Hebrew. The dictionary becomes his best companion and he takes it everywhere with him.

The Israeli embassy remain unconvinced of his attempts to acclimatise so utterly and, even without their doubts, the process to gaining citizenship is a complicated one, especially when the young French couple he ends up becoming friends with has some pretty strange ideas about how to help him. Based on his own experiences, director Nadav Lapid explores the challenges of trying to start in a new country completely alone.