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Blue Suede Jew

Type: Feature
Released: 2006
Length: 79 min.
Directed by: Morgan Matthews

Crew

Associate Producer David Brindley

Full credits (Main credits only)

Themes

Status

  • Shown in festivals
  • Broadcast within UK

Synopsis:

Gilles Elmalih is not your run-of-the-mill Elvis impersonator. An Israeli living on the West Bank with his wife and children, Gilles is convinced that Elvis speaks to him on a regular basis. The messages from the King can get quite specific – handwritten Hebrew notes that mysteriously appear around the house. As director Morgan Matthews gets to know Gilles and his family, he discovers that in Gilles’ household Elvis is an authoritative father figure whose wishes are strictly followed. The situation takes a serious turn when Elvis tells Gilles he must sell all his possessions and move to Las Vegas where a stranger will approach him with a well-paid job. Morgan accompanies Gilles to America, where he hopes to win the biggest Elvis impersonator contest in the world. A complex story of religion, bereavement and displacement.

Festivals

Sheffield Doc Fest 2006

Synopsis:
Gilles Elmalih is not your run-of-the-mill Elvis impersonator. An Israeli living on the West Bank with his wife and children, Gilles is convinced that Elvis speaks to him on a regular basis. The messages from the King can get quite specific – handwritten Hebrew notes that mysteriously appear around the house. As director Morgan Matthews gets to know Gilles and his family, he discovers that in Gilles’ household Elvis is an authoritative father figure whose wishes are strictly followed. The situation takes a serious turn when Elvis tells Gilles he must sell all his possessions and move to Las Vegas where a stranger will approach him with a well-paid job. Morgan accompanies Gilles to America, where he hopes to win the biggest Elvis impersonator contest in the world. A complex story of religion, bereavement and displacement.
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