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Naf: Street Kid, 2006, 80 min, Israel

The documentary Naf: Street Kid follows the life of Naftali Naf' Yavitz, a homeless 16-year old living in Jerusalem. Director Moshe Alfali follows Naf through the streets of Jerusalem. The viewer finds out that Naf's parents kicked him out of their Orthodox home at age 13. For most of documentary, Naf shares a small room with two other people in a youth hostel. Naf's multiple occupations include lobbyist for street youth, a hip-hop artist trying to promote his tracks and a minor drug dealer. In addition, Naf is in and out of court to await the sentencing of the person that sexually assaulted him at 13. Naf does not discuss in detail what happened to him on camera.

Naf talks into the camera about the hustle of street life. The camera follows him performing and promoting his hip-hop tracks, making small drug deals and approaching local politicians to extend more rights to homeless youth. A couple of scenes that stand out include Naf crying after the umpteenth delay in sentencing the person responsible for sexually assaulting him. Another moment shows Naf praying at the Wailing Wall before his performance. On the other side, an ugly scene has Naf smoking a bong and vomiting his lunch under a bridge underpass.

Alfali takes a hand-held approach to his documentary style that echoes the jittery and unsteady life Naf leads. The camera often pans over Zion Square, a meeting place for Jerusalem's homeless youth. The documentary uses Naf's music and lyrics. One rhyme that is heard often, "Everyone thinks I'm mad/ a little child of my dad/But inside I'm so sad".

The one aspect that this documentary fails in is not finding out why Naf's parents kicked him out. Naf only says that his rebellious attitude got him thrown out but the viewer senses more to this story. The director does not probe further. Maybe this is intentional or just that Naf's life is compelling enough without delving into his past.

Naf: Street Kid shows viewers a side of Israel that has nothing to do with the Palestinian conflict. This documentary balances the bravado of a street kid with the yearning of a troubled spirit.

Learn more about this author, Russella Lucien.
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