Film FAQ — My Sister Shira (by filmmaker Matan Tal)

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1) What is this film about — in one sentence?

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My Sister Shira is about the experience — and the questions — that arise from growing up with a sister with a rare condition.  

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2) What genre is this film (and how would you describe its form)?

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In my book, My Sister Shira is a documentary, but more specifically a personal essay film–type documentary.  

I use the form to give the viewer a glimpse into what it actually feels like to grow up with a sister with a rare syndrome — not as a “topic,” but as a lived reality.  

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3) Why did you make this film?

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I made this film because I had a real-life opportunity in 2010 to film my sister going through a very expensive plastic surgery — an operation meant to “normalize” her face.  

And for me, that raised a question that I couldn’t unsee:

Does she do it for herself — or does she do it for other people?  

Because people stared at her. People treated her differently. And suddenly the surgery becomes more than surgery — it becomes philosophy.

But I didn’t finish the film back then.

I was still a kid in a way. The material was too fresh.  

So a decade and a half later, I came back — and I finished it. Not because it became easier… but because the time was finally right for me to deal with it honestly and complete what I started.  

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4) What is the central idea or question the film explores?

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The central question in My Sister Shira, in my view, is simple and endless:

What makes us who we are?  

That’s the deep question of the film.

Not “what happened,” not “what is the diagnosis,” not “what’s the moral lesson.”

But identity itself — and how fragile it becomes when the world keeps trying to define you from the outside.  

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5) What should the viewer pay attention to while watching?

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In this film, I honestly think the viewer should let go.  

Go along for the ride. Build the experience.  

And this is important:
don’t try to intellectualize it too much.  

Because My Sister Shira isn’t a film that wants you to “solve” it.

It’s a film that wants you to feel your way through it — the way I had to.  

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6) What is your approach to editing in this film?

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My approach to editing My Sister Shira was to make it as subjective and personal as possible.  

Because I didn’t want the film to pretend it’s “neutral.”
I wanted it to feel unmistakably like:

this is my point of view.  

Not distant questions. Not general questions.

Personal questions. The ones I asked myself.  

Technically, I also used editing to emphasize time itself.

Some footage was shot 15 years ago on an old digital camera. Some was filmed today, in high quality.

So the film carries time in its skin:
   •    the older footage feels like memory
   •    the newer footage feels like “now”
   •    the shift isn’t hidden — it’s part of the emotional language  

To me, it’s almost like the past deteriorates visually — while the present is sharp, colorful, unavoidable.  

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7) How did you approach sound and voice (music / voiceover / silence) in this film?

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For sound, I didn’t do it alone.

I worked with a great sound designer, Alfred Tesler, and we built the sound together.  

Our intention was clear:

use the original sound we recorded — keep it grounded in reality, not “polished into fiction.”  

I also worked with a musician:

Arina Popova wrote the soundtrack specifically for this film, and it’s a beautiful, moving piece of music that carries emotion without forcing it.  

And the narration — the voice — was something I wanted to be extremely direct.

In my experience, narration can become performance.
But here I wanted it to feel like self-telling:

Me telling a story.
Me reflecting.
Me asking questions.  

Almost like a guide walking beside you — not a voice explaining you from above.  

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8) How much of the film is scripted vs discovered during the process?

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This film is 100% documentary.  

But the truth is: the meaning of the footage changed over time.

A lot of the material was shot 15 years ago — and back then, I didn’t fully know what the film was yet.  

If I had an intention, it was a different one.

When I returned to the project later, I knew what I had from the past — and then I wrote a general script that evolved while filming the present-day material.  

And after the narration was written, the film became clearer:

I could see what needed reshooting, what was already strong, and what the film was truly asking for.  

So yes — it’s documentary.
But it’s also a film that became itself over 15 years.  

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9) What makes this film “experimental” (if it is) — and why did you choose that?

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In my view, the film is experimental because it refuses to pretend it’s objective.  

It doesn’t try to deliver one clean truth.

It doesn’t pretend to be “the documentary voice of God.”

It’s a documentary that openly admits:

this is subjective. this is intimate. this is mine.  

And technically, it’s experimental too.

Because I used:
   •    different cameras from different eras
   •    different image qualities
   •    even different screen ratios  

I didn’t try to make it smooth like one consistent “perfect film texture.”

I didn’t want it to look like I always knew what it was going to be.

I let it evolve and become its own form.  

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10) What films, artists, or influences shaped this work (directly or indirectly)?

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This is the one answer where my response is almost stubborn.

To be honest: I can’t think of a single external influence for this film.  

Usually I can name-drop influences like it’s nothing.

But My Sister Shira didn’t come from cinema.
It came from my life.

The only influence I had was my own life.  

Because no external artist can tell me how to tell my own life story.

That’s the truth.  

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11) Who is this film for — and what kind of viewer will connect with it most?

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In my perspective, this film connects with people who are curious about the world.  

People who are open to different perspectives.

People who want to understand lives that don’t fit the standard template.

It’s also for anyone who is interested in:
   •    how people with rare syndromes experience the world
   •    what it means to grow up with a sibling like that
   •    intimate, personal storytelling that moves away from mainstream “one truth” filmmaking  

If you’re drawn to essay films, personal documentaries, and films that don’t pretend to be all-knowing — this film is for you.  

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12) Where can I watch the film, and how can I contact you for screenings or programming?

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Right now, you can’t watch the film just yet.  

The film is finished — but it hasn’t had its premiere yet.  

In the future, I’ll add full viewing information here.

But if you’re a film programmer, curator, or someone seriously interested in the film:

email me and ask for a screener.  

I’d genuinely love to share it — and if you’re considering programming it, please reach out.