Out of all the Jewish occasions that bring families together, why did you pick a shivah as the backdrop for this film?
It is the only ritual that gets families together. The ritual has its own dramatic engine, which was very helpful for the film. The ritual is also seven days—the amount of time necessary for the characters to develop. Death is also a human experience that brings communities together, often abruptly. Have you ever made movies about Judaism before? No. Was it difficult to film a plot around a religious ritual without offending anyone? I was really careful. I didn’t want to touch the religion. The Jewish side of the movie is contextual. The movie is more about humans—humans who have lost loved ones. However, for the audience to understand the context of the characters, I needed some information about the ritual. I had rabbinical counselors so I could be factual. I also tried to avoid a didactic tone. I intentionally made Moishe’s girlfriend Catholic so all audiences could “sit shivah” and relate to the characters. What’s the most prominent difference between the Jewish community in Mexico
