Since the world film festival premiere in February 2023, Call Me Dancer has won 23 film festival awards, ten of which are Audience Awards at festivals throughout the US and Canada, in Israel and rest of world.
Best Documentary, Golden Prague Award - Czech Crystal Prize, Czech Republic 2024
Best Director, Mystic Film Festival Award - USA 2024
Best Documentary, Magnolia Awards, Shanghai, China 2024
Best of Fest, Documentary - Palm Springs Intl Film Festival, USA 2024
Audience Award, Sonoma International Film Festival, USA 2024
Audience Award, Annapolis International Film Festival, USA 2024
Best Documentary Feature Film, Jury Award, Prescott Film Festival, USA 2024
Next Wave Jury Prize, Miami Jewish Film Festival, USA 2024
Winner of the Fest, New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival, USA 2024
Audience Award, Documentary – Berkshire International Film Festival, USA 2023
Art of Storytelling Award – Doc Edge Film Festival, New Zealand 2023
Audience Award, Feature - Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, USA 2023
Best Director Award - Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati, USA 2023
Audience Award, Portraits Program - Vancouver Intl.l Film Festival, Canada 2023
Art and Inspiration Award - Hamptons Doc Fest, USA 2023
Audience Award, Best Documentary Feature - Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, Seattle, USA 2023
Audience Award, Documentary, Rehoboth Beach Film Festival, USA 2023
Audience Favorite Award, San Francisco Dance Film Festival, USA 2023
Audience Award, Documentary - River to River Film Festival, Florence, Italy 2023
Excellence in Documentary Directing Award - New York Women in Film & Television @ New York Indian Film Festival, USA 2023
Young Jury Award, DOKUart Festival, Bjelovar, Croatia 2023
Honorable Mention, Best Documentary, International South Asian Film Festival Canada, Surrey, Canada 2023
Call Me Dancer tells the story of a hip-hop dancer from Mumbai who is forever changed when he accidentally walks into a ballet class. Manish is captivated by ballet’s athleticism but doesn’t tell his struggling parents that he has dropped out of school and used their savings to pay for dance classes. 70-year-old Israeli American Yehuda Ma’or arrives in Mumbai to teach ballet at an inner-city dance school after losing his last teaching position. He once had a renowned career as Israel's top dancer at the Bat Dor Dance Company and had been a teacher to ballet’s greatest stars, like Rudolf Nureyev and Natalia Makarova. Teaching in Mumbai is not what Yehuda is used to – but he needs a job. When he discovers Manish, he feels like he’s won the lottery. Yehuda believes Manish has the right stuff to dance professionally. His dedicated student renews Yehuda’s excitement in teaching. Yehuda trains Manish hard: prodding, cajoling, and encouraging him through 4 classes a day. But competition in the dance world is incredibly daunting. Only 3% of dance students are invited to join professional companies. And Manish started late, at the age of 20, when most students have been training since they were small children.
Call Me Dancer is a story of hope, heartache, and hard work. Together, Manish and Yehuda transform each other’s lives, searching to uncover who and what they are. Yehuda seeks a purpose and a place to call home. Manish dreams of dancing on the world-stage but struggles to break free from the confines of his own economic and social circumstances.
