Broken Wings is an uplifting story of a family attempting to rebuild their lives after the accidental death of a husband and father. Laden with awards this unexpected Israeli hit by short film director Nir Bergman depicts grief and guilt without a hint of saccharine.

The Ulman family are broken souls nine months after their patriarch`s death from a bee sting. Loving wife and mother Dafna (Orly Zilberschatz-Banai) slept most of her initial bereavement leaving her eldest daughter Maya (Maya Maron) with the responsibility of looking the two youngest children and forsaking her own dreams of a recording contract. Resentment and bitterness reach boiling point between the two when the youngest Ido (Daniel Magon) takes a fancy for diving into empty swimming pools.

Scant help comes from Maya`s twin brother Yair (Nitai Gvirtz) who`s more interested in nihilism and the philosophies of `Descartes` than helping to rebuild the family. On the brink of expulsion from school unless he co-operates with a shrink, Yair is only distracted from dressing up as a mouse and distributing leaflets when his on-off girlfriend stands on a window ledge naked and threatens to jump.

Dafna`s tentative attempt to move on in her life romantically is tainted with feelings of adulterous deceit. Both Maya and Yair are looking for an escape route from their grief - Maya in her music and Yair in misanthropy.

An impressive if somewhat brooding debut feature the pain and confusion of each family member is brilliantly observed.

Playing now at selected cinemas in London and throughout the country