"Sometimes All It Takes Is One Gust of Wind" – Shemi Zarhin on the Subtle Art of Inspiration

by SERET Festival

Shemi Zarhin, screenwriter and director of Bliss (Hemda), joins the SERET Festival in London as one of this year’s special guests. With a unique cinematic voice and a gentle sense of irony, Zarhin speaks candidly about his creative process, the invisible spark behind his stories, and the inner battle between his writer and director selves.

Shemi Zarhin

When did you first realised you wanted to work in film? It still hasn’t happened… I guess at my age, it’s about time to make up my mind.

Which films or filmmakers have had the biggest influence on you?

I’m always surprised by this question, even though it comes up in every interview. The idea behind it, when it comes to the creative process, couldn’t be further from how films are actually born—at least not for me. You don’t walk out of a film you loved and admired thinking how to make one just like it. Finished films are closed works: the riddles are solved, the fog has lifted, everything is complete. Trying to go back there would be like trying to re-cook a dish that someone else has already made. There are many filmmakers and films I’ve loved—some even touched my life at certain important moments—but real inspiration comes from life itself, and especially from people I know. For example, my mother (who is definitely a kind of film...).

What usually sparks the idea for a new film — an image, a line, a character?

There’s that too—and that, and that—and more. Dreams, abstract ideas, fleeting moments, fragments of conversation, a strange look someone gave me once… it all mixes in. It’s not just people I know, though they’re often at the centre. It’s also the things that stir quietly in the background: a mood, a colour, a scent, a memory I can’t place. Inspiration doesn’t arrive in a straight line. It’s more like weather—shifting, unpredictable—and sometimes all it takes is one gust of wind to start the whole thing moving.

"Inspiration doesn’t arrive in a straight line. It’s more like weather—shifting, unpredictable—and sometimes all it takes is one gust of wind." — Shemi Zarhin

Photographer: Vered Adir

You both write and direct your films. How do you balance these two creative roles?

I write as if there’s no director—and never will be. And I direct as if the screenwriter has passed away… In other words, I try to preserve the tough battle that always takes place between writer and director—a rough clash between two stubborn, rigid, egomaniacal children. It’s a harsh fight, but a very important one for the creative process. I do my best to keep it alive, even though the moments on set when I’m yelling at myself can get pretty awkward…

Is there a character you’ve written that feels especially personal or close to your heart?

All the characters are close to my heart—otherwise, I wouldn’t write them. But I can say that in my last film (Hemda), the character of Omri (Sassi’s grandson) is especially close to me.

What’s your favourite scene you’ve ever written or directed?

I’m still working on it.

How do you stay emotionally connected to a story through the long journey of making a film?

Love is love—and like love, it comes with moments of anger, even hatred, separation, then longing, reconciliation, and so on and so on. It’s a dance that never really ends (even after the film’s no longer showing in theatres).

What do you find most challenging about creating films in Israel today?

The need to hold on to optimism—you can’t create without it.

Is there a type of story you haven’t told yet but hope to explore one day?

I don’t explore types of stories, I tell them. And there are still so many more to tell.

Shemi Zarhin with Assi Levy and Sasson Gabay | Photographer: Vered Adir