THE HANGMAN (2010) — Documentary

“I was interested in looking directly at a man history preferred to forget, and in asking what moral responsibility looks like after the fact—when ideology has already done its damage and only a human being remains.”
— Netalie Braun

Logline
A human portrait of Shalom Nagar, the man who executed Adolf Eichmann.

Synopsis
The administrator of the mass deportation of Jews to the Nazi death camps, Adolf Eichmann, was hanged in Israel’s first and only execution. Shalom Nagar, a religious Jewish ritual slaughterer and street philosopher who believes in charity, was the hangman.

Through intimate conversations and archival footage, the film follows Nagar—a marginalized Sephardi prison warden forced to carry out the execution of the state’s arch-enemy—and traces how this national burden shaped both his life and the country’s moral imagination. His work as a slaughterer in an abattoir, combined with memories of his past, creates a complex portrait of a man who repeatedly finds himself at the edge of historical events, yet remains humane, humorous, and deeply faithful.

Shalom’s voice, rarely heard and long pushed to the margins of Israeli history, offers an alternative perspective—one that reveals a profoundly humanistic and universal message.

Awards

  • Best Documentary Film (under 60 minutes), Haifa International Film Festival (2010) — Winner

  • Best Documentary, Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum (2011) — Winner

  • Best Photography, Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum (2011) — Winner

  • Nomination, Best Film (Mid-Length Competition), IDFA (2010)

Festivals & Screenings (selected)

  • Haifa International Film Festival, Israel (2010)

  • IDFA – Mid-Length Competition, Amsterdam (2010)

  • Visions du Réel, Switzerland (2011)

  • Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, USA (2011)

  • Krakow International Film Festival, Poland (2011)

  • San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, USA (2011)

  • Berlin Jewish Film Festival, Germany (2011)

  • UK Jewish Film Festival, UK (2011)

  • Festival International de Films de Femmes de Créteil, France (2011)

  • Vision du Réel, Switzerland (2011)

  • Pärnu International Film Festival, Estonia (2011)

  • EDOC – International Documentary Film Festival, Ecuador (2011)

  • Culturescapes Festival, Basel, Switzerland (2011)

  • Israeli Film Festival Amsterdam, Netherlands (2012)

  • Polit-Film Festival, Innsbruck, Austria (2012)

The film has also screened widely at universities, synagogues, museums, and cultural institutions worldwide, and was broadcast on YES Docu in Israel and on international television networks.
screenings and awards

Press / Reviews

Distribution & Availability
The film is represented internationally by First Hand Films, Berlin, Germany, and has been acquired by broadcasters, museums, universities, and educational platforms worldwide, including Amazon, ZDF, TV Cultura (Brazil), Ceska Televize (Czech Republic), Film Platform, and Against Gravity.

Cast & Crew

  • Directors & Writers: Netalie Braun, Avigail Sperber

  • Producers: Netalie Braun, Avigail Sperber

  • Co-Producer: Sigal Yehuda

  • Director of Photography: Avigail Sperber

  • Editor: Joelle Alexix

  • Original Score: Ophir Labovitz

  • Sound Design: Aviv Aldema

  • Subject: Shalom Nagar

Financial Support

  • New Fund for Cinema and Television (NFCT)

  • YES Docu

  • Rabinowich Film Fund

  • Pais Arts Council

  • Foundation for Jewish Culture