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Actress Natalie Portman's directorial debut

CCTV.com

08-18-2016 00:46 BJT

Academy award-winning actress Natalie Portman is setting her sights on directing. On Monday, she attended the New York premiere of her feature-length debut film “A Tale of Love and Darkness.” The movie is based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by renowned Israeli author Amos Oz.

Actress Natalie Portman

Actress Natalie Portman's directorial debut

“Well, I think that you want it to be something very personal that comes from your stomach and from your heart. This was absolutely that,” said Portman.

“I was born in Israel and I heard stories about the foundation about the state since I was little from my grandparents and my parents, so to actually be able to recreate it and use all of that imagination was really, really meaningful.”

Famous Israeli novelist Amoz Oz recounted his childhood memories with his mother in “A Tale of Love and Darkness.” The novel is set in Jerusalem, and begins with the British occupation of Palestine, leading up to the early days of Israeli statehood. The autobiographical novel has sold more than 1 million copies, and has been published in 28 languages.

“When I read the book for the first time I was so moved by it and immediately saw the film in my mind. So I knew that this was something I could make because I saw it already. I think the combination of the language—Amos Oz’s language is so beautiful. And the story of this mother and son and their relationship through storytelling was incredibly moving to me,” said Portman.

Portman wanted the film to be as accurate and authentic as possible.

“The film is in Hebrew. It takes place in Israel in the 1940s, so it’s a period film. It was really wonderful to get to—to have these details because I think it helps create the real authenticity of the place when you’re paying attention to exact hair and makeup and clothing and the way the streets looked and the lettering on the signs and whether there were street lamps at the time, what kinds of cars,” she said.

“And, of course, the language itself, which was so crucial to the story. It’s really the revival of the Hebrew language. It went from being a biblical language that was only spoken in a religious context to a modern language that you could say, ‘Let’s put gas in the car.’ You know, you had to update it.”

“A Tale of Love and Darkness” opens in U.S. theaters Friday.

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