Seventy years after his grandfather fled to Israel from Nazi Germany, documentary filmmaker Tomer Heymann returned to Berlin in 2006 as a guest of the Panorama to present his film Bubot Niyar_/_Paper Dolls. It was in a Berlin club that Heymann met and fell in love with a German dancer named Andreas Merk. In his film I Shot My Love Tomer Heymann tells the story of their love affair. Heymann’s mother Noa cannot get over the fact that Tomer is the only one of her children who still lives near her after the parents’ separation. When Andreas pays Tomer his first visit in Tel Aviv he not only has to get used to living in a new relationship, he also has to understand the complexities of daily life in Israel, as well as learn to cope with his lover’s family history. Their love takes Tomer and Andreas to some beautiful places, but the family’s influence and their personal fears force the pair to confront thorny challenges. Their often unsettling discussions take place before Tomer’s rolling camera. The result is a series of intimate portraits that manage to stay close to the protagonists and maintain a thoughtful distance. In his film, Tomer Heymann tells a small personal story amidst echoes of the great events of our times. –Berlinale
