You Only Die Twice is an Israeli documentary about a double Austrian-Jewish identity in the 20th century. The film was released in 2018. The leading protagonist and director of the film is Yair Lev, a professor at Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, .

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You Only Die Twice
Two men with the same name born on the same day in Vienna
Directed by	Yair Lev
Written by	Yair Lev, David Deri
Produced by	David Deri, Markus Glaser
Cinematography	David Deri
Edited by	Yaniv Rize Sheffy
Music by	Jonathan Bar Giora
Release date	2018 (2018)
Running time	92 minutes
Countries	Israel, Austria
Languages	Hebrew, English, German

The movie recounts the research of the Israeli director revealing the story of a man who was obviously born on the same day, July 12, 1902, and in the same place (Vienna) as his own grandfather, but who apparently died 18 years later in Tyrol. This second man of the same name has even been a public figure, being the president of the Jewish community in Innsbruck, Austria during the last years of his life.

The story is told and stylized as a thriller. It was first shown in its German dubbed version at the Leokino in Innsbruck on March 6, 2018[1] and later on won two awards at the docaviv film festival in May 2018.[2] On March 11, 2018, the movie was broadcast by Austrian state TV ORF as part of the official commemoration of the „Anschluss“ of Austria to the German Reich in 1938; on May 16, 2018, the film was shown by the Bayerischer Rundfunk. Currently the film is nominated to the Ophir (Israel Film Academy) Award for best full-length documentary.^{[citation needed]}

Synopsis

The director's mother, Mrs. Chava Lev, receives a message from Austria, that she might be entitled to the inheritance of a small house in London – but there was a surprising problem: According to the Viennese documents, her father Ernst Bechinsky had not passed away in Tel Aviv in 1969, but had died in Innsbruck, Austria in 1987. Her son Yair Lev, leading actor, screenwriter and director of the following film project, decides that he has to take a field trip to Vienna in order to find out who could have been the man who has copied his grandfather's identity, presumably after World War II. First research results reveal that this man had been married to a gentile woman. In the Innsbruck archives, he soon finds more disturbing material on this still unknown wife's family. Her father, her mother and her sister-in-law had been long-time illegal nazi party members. Her brother has even been a SA and SS member. Not much more should be told to avoid spoilers, but the research takes unexpected turns again and again and a second narrative ax plot evolves from the encounters of Yair Lev with descendants of this Tyrolean family, especially with the connection established by Yair Lev and a grandson of that SS member of the family.[3]

Development

The two well known documentarists Lev und Deri, who multi-task in their field as directors, producer, as cinematographer, screenwriter and film school teacher, took the risk to follow the promising start of the story on their own expense, flying to Vienna and Innsbruck in the winter of 2012 to check the potential of the mysterious and still completely un-researched story. After their return to Israel, they edited a teaser with the reactions they had collected in Austria and managed to get first production support by the Israeli channel 'yes docu'. At later pitchings, Austrian production company Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion joined the project and won further support by Austrian State TV ORF and German Bayerischer Rundfunk.

Shooting locations

Shooting took place from 2012 bis 2017 in Innsbruck, Hall in Tirol, Vienna, Munich, Zagreb, Stara Gradiška, Petach Tikva, Holon and Tel Aviv.

Awards

• Best Research Award: Forum of Documentary Filmmakers - Israel 2019

• Audience Choice Award: Chagrin Documentary Film Festival, Ohio - USA 2019
• Best Feature Documentary Award: NIFF Noida International Film Festival -  India 2019
• Audience Award for Best Documentary Film: São Paulo Film Festival (Jewish Film Festival) - Brazil 2019
• Best Research Award: Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival - Israel 2018
• Audience Award: Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival - Israel 2018
• Best Research Award: Israeli Documentary Film Awards 2018
• Nominee: Best Documentary Film: Ophir Award 2018 (Israel Film Academy)

References

External links

• You Only Die Twice at IMDb
• Film page in Production company Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion