Holy Rollers

Dir. Kevin Asch | USA | 2010 | 89 mins | English

Hasidic Jews are not famous for being international drug smugglers, which is probably why, between 1998 and 1999, several impressionable Hasidic men were used as mules to smuggle over a million tablets of ecstasy into New York City.

Director Kevin Asch brings this true story to life in a brilliantly observed, quietly compelling and accomplished film. Starring Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, The Squid and the Whale) and Justin Bartha (The Hangover), with a cameo from rapper Q-Tip, Holy Rollers charts the peculiar journey of Sammy Gold, the most unlikely of drug dealers.

At first shockingly naïve, Sammy soon develops a talent for the business but things spiral out of control when he falls for the Israeli kingpin’s girlfriend, and arouses suspicion in his family and community. It’s refreshing to see Hasidic characters portrayed as un-stereotyped, complex individuals, and a drug gang film that doesn’t revert to easy cliché and over-stylisation.

Followed by a Q&A with the film’s director Kevin Asch

Screening with:

The Golem (Part of The God & Co Animation Series)
Dir. Stephen Levomson and Joel Levinson I USA I 2009 I 5minsI English

Getting rid of noisy neighbours may call for some unconventional measures.

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