The Wedding Plan is an Israeli comedy that provides for some fresh twists in the romantic comedy genre.

Written and directed by Rama Burshtein, the film stars Noa Koler, Amos Tamam, Oz Zehavi, Irit Sheleg, Ronny Merhavi, Dafi Alpern, Karin Serrouya, Erez Drigues, Oded Leopold, Udi Persi and Jonathan Rozen.  The film is in Hebrew with English subtitles.

Burshtein’s second feature takes a look at the subjects of love, marriage, and faith as Koler stars as Michal, a 32-year-old woman who is bound to get married in one month’s time.  Her fiance decided to call off the wedding and Michal has no intentions to be single.  She puts her faith in G-d that somebody will show up when the marriage ceremony takes place on the 8th day of Chanukah.

Her mother and sister are skeptical but Michal goes forward with everything, be it a venue, invitations, and yes, even a wedding dress.  She’s not going to stay single.  Matchmakers are enlisted and the blind dates take place, a disaster in typical rom-com fashion.  The only person she feels connected to is a pop star, Yos, but yes, he’s married.  When the day of the wedding draws closer, there’s still nobody in sight but Michal is bound to go through in order to find her happiness.

The inspiration for this movie came from a story that Burshtein had heard about two couples wanting children.  The two went for a blessing and both were told that they would have a son in the next year.  However, only one couple had a son when they came back.  They had the faith that it would happen.

“I love that story,” Burshtein says.  “It says that it’s not enough to get the blessing.  You have to believe in the blessing.  Once you do something to show your belief, you open the possibility.”

While Michal is Orthodox, this film isn’t necessarily about religion.  She was raised secular and grew to become observant.  She insists on getting married on the 8th day of Chanukah.

“She is insisting on that date only because it was the date she picked with the guy she was supposed to marry,” says Burshtein. “But I picked the day carefully.  The eighth candle of Hanukkah is like the world beyond.  This life has only seven parts.  The eighth part is the world of faith and belief. That’s from Kabbalah, the mystic side of Judaism.”

A nominee for Best Film during the 2016 Venice Film Festival, Roadside Attractions opens The Wedding Plan with a limited theatrical release in New York on May 12th before expanding to select cities on May 19th.