THE QUEST FOR THE MISSING PIECE
To cut or to keep

What a little bar time can lead to, no one would ever expect. A quest for beer one night turned into a feature film. Over drinks in Berlin, Germany, Oded Lotan and his friends were speculating what a Mohel or circumciser does with a baby boy's foreskin after the bris. Hence spawned the idea for THE QUEST FOR THE MISSING PIECE. The idea of a tradition dating back to 2400 B.C. in Egypt, and continuing today in the Jewish culture, is a cut above the rest. Israeli director Oded Lotan, helming the director's chair for his documentary film debut, and Claudia Levin's collaboration as producer, delve into the history of circumcision through modern times.

But the catalyst is Oded's relationship with his uncircumcised partner, bringing about a story, rather than merely a scientific/historical approach. The film includes stock footage, animation sequences, and voice over narration. It was truly a journey for the filmmaker, not just the audience. Oded says, "Although I had a very clear feeling against the ritual at first, it was important to me to respect and not to judge my characters. This feeling changed a bit as I went along with the filmmaking." Oded and Claudia collaborated together after seven years of friendship. Oded had previous experience in TV commercial directing and editing. Claudia had a ten-year background producing creative documentary films. Within the two years it took to produce the film, the first year was devoted to developing, researching, and funding; whereas the second to shooting and editing. With eighty thousand dollars from the Second Authority for TV and Radio in Israel (channel 2) and a twenty-thousand dollar-completion fund from a Film Foundation, the pair was well on their way. As far as the art/work/life balance, Oded was editing "trash" for TV during the first year so he didn't have to be "involved in any emotional aspect." And the second, he was living off of savings and credit, which "didn't go so well with my character."