UK Jewish Film

The Hangman

When Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death, his guardsman Shalom Nagar, who is now a Jewish ritual slaughterer, drew the short straw to be his hangman. Weaving together Shalom’s present work at the abattoir with his memories as a prison guard, this warm documentary charts the life of a man who found himself on several occasions at the heart of key historical events in Israel. Shalom is a deeply philosophical and spiritual man, who uses humour and charity to help everyone around him, despite going through his own personal tragedies. Through his story of being forced as a Sephardi Jew to carry out the hanging of Eichmann, The Hangman not only raises vital questions about the treatment of ‘others’ but also makes us question where our own measures of tolerance lie.  For Shalom, a national burden became his own, yet he continues to believe in the power of humanity. Lucy Kaye

Best Documentary Film: Haifa International Film Festival 2010