If you belong to the privileged class of locals in a country and lose something that has sentimental value but is otherwise inexpensive for you, whom do suspect of stealing it? The ‘outsiders’ or immigrant people, of course!

Tomer Shushan’s short, ‘White Eye,’ based on a real-life experience of the filmmaker, drives this point home. And in dramatic fashion, points out the extreme vulnerability that this suspicion puts the immigrants in. 

We caught up with Tomer for an exclusive interview.

“From Q&As I have done with lots of Film Festivals around the world, I see that people everywhere feel connected to this topic. There are clashes between classes, between locals and strangers, everywhere. I feel this topic is very strong these days, and I am really happy that I could make this film to show people this simple story that can change someone’s life,” says Tomer, who is pleasantly surprised that his film is in the Oscar shortlist, “It was out of this world, this feeling that your independent film, your personal story, is now on the Oscar shortlist! Life is so crazy, you know!”

The film’s protagonist, Omer, discovers someone stole his bike. He finds it, locked, in the night on a lonely street. He reaches out to the police to help him unlock it. When the police arrive, they are courteous to him, but insist on following the rule book, and ask him to locate the thief and lodge a complaint first.

When a poor, immigrant worker Yunes from a nearby meat factory appears and claims he bought the bike, Omer concludes Yunes has stolen the bike. Yunes appeals to Omer not to involve the police, and that he can have the bike for the amount he paid to buy the bike. But, it is too late for that.

The police discover that Yunes is living in the country on an expired visa. Omer realises he has hurt Yunes irrevocably without intending to. The same police that spoke about rules with Omer, is now willing to take Yunes into custody, ignoring due process.

The sight of other immigrants hiding in a freezer in the meat factory illustrates the constant fear that the immigrants live under. These are people living in our midst, yet we do not see them! “To me,” says Tomer, “White Eye symbolises blindness. My protagonist is a bit blind at the beginning. White Eye also symbolises the story as seen by the eyes of a white person.”

‘White Eye’ is an award-winning short film, and was made as a one-shot film, with just enough funds to complete the shoot in one night. Daniel Gad as Omer and Dawit Tekelaeb as Yunes have turned in excellent performances.

In fact, about the character Yunes, Tomer says, “First of all, it was very important for me to work with a real refugee, someone that wakes up every morning knowing they are illegal, just their being, you know. I remember, walking one night, I saw Dawit washing dishes in a restaurant through a window. He caught my eye, and I knew it had to be him. There is no explanation to this. It is just a feeling I had. I went to him and told him. He was shocked, and did not really understand what I wanted. I guess after I met him the next day over coffee and told him the story and about his character, he felt it was really important for him to do something like this because it was a way for him to represent his community, and to convey the message to the world that they want to feel equal. That was the hardest part, to find a non-actor, someone from the street we don’t know, and to work with him for a film.”

Making a one-shot film is never easy, as we all know. It took a lot of hard work and lots of practice to make this film happen. Says Tomer, “We had camera rehearsals. We also had rehearsals for, say, the guy with the sound, since he needed to know who’s talking when, and that he is not casting shadows on the wall, since the cameras were going 360. So, we needed choreography for everyone on set, not just for the actors. Everyone needed to know where they were going to be and when. It was very challenging. I have to say this, I will think ten times if I have to do a one-shot film again. It is too much work.”

To make sure the audience experience was fresh, Tomer even made sure the characters did not meet each other till it was time for the take. He explains, “I guess I wanted to feel the magic of the click that happens the first time you meet someone.”

Since it was based on Tomer’s personal experience, he made sure he and Daniel got to know each other over two months before they started discussing the script, so he could think like him. In other words, a lot of attention to detail has gone into the making of this film.

Tomer plans to make a feature film based on ‘White Eye’, and has started working on the storyline of his feature.