The short film Touch is available to watch at the top of the page.
The short film Touch, directed by Nir Berger, explores romantic exploration among teenagers in the digital era. It challenges conventional notions of romance by presenting its two main characters, Adel and Uri, as individuals who connect through a shared activity: trolling their friends online. Both post snarky and hurtful comments, impersonate other users, spam, and mock others.
Touch is written and directed with sincerity, and its innovative and thought-provoking approach questions about social norms and gender dynamics in contemporary digital culture. From the perspective of its protagonist, Adel, the film examines the complexity of online interactions, the blurred identity of a digital profile, and the unexpected awakening of empathy toward others. Moreover, the film explores the boundaries of trust and authenticity in online relationships. In an era dominated by social media, where digital personas shy away from real connections, Touch forces its characters—and, more extensively, its audience—to confront the authenticity of their interactions.
The unconventional start of the relationship between Adel and Uri sets the stage for a narrative that challenges the familiar boy-meets-girl trope. Adel, a typical teenage girl who indulges in online trolling, confronts her actions when she encounters the profile of a Syrian teenager during a war. This pivotal moment catalyzes Adel’s change, sparking a journey of self-discovery and empathy: Uri’s request for an authentic picture of Adel becomes a point of tension that highlights the inherent uncertainty of online communication. Fearful of sending her picture, Adel connects with a beautiful girl from Aleppo, Syria, whom she found through a hashtag and asks her to send a photo that Adel can forward to Uri. Adel even asks her to write a sign in Hebrew and pose with it to convey authenticity. Despite the sirens, bombings, and the dire situation in her city, the Syrian girl complies with Adel’s requests. As their correspondence intensifies, Adel sheds her defensive mechanisms and narcissism, becoming increasingly sensitive to the events unfolding around her; her encounters with images of war and injustice lead her to take an interest in the conflict and understand her plight virtual friend from Syria, whom she has never met.
Adel’s interactions with Ori and her growing empathy towards for the Syrian girl gradually strip away her superficiality as the film approaches its end. In the final moments, even her obsessive engagement with the screen scatters. This development not only propels the narrative forward but also serves as a powerful commentary on the ability of human connection to transcend the boundaries of gender, culture, geography, and circumstances. Adel’s relationship with the Syrian girl evolves in parallel to her relationship with her younger brother, with whom she barely speaks; her only role is to warm up and serve him junk food while he remains glued to his screen, never even glancing at her. In contrast, without saying a word, Adel notices a bruise on his head, likely caused by children who tease him.
Berger enriches the narrative by masterfully blending elements of romantic comedy with those of film noir, offering a fresh perspective on the familiar tropes of these genres through the use of the digital screen, which functions in the film as a mask.
At its core, the romantic comedy genre focuses on the pursuit of love and empathy, while also addressing and challenging traditional social and gender roles of men and women. Film noir, on the other hand, demands its characters to take moral stances and engage in active participation. The combination of these two genres allows the characters to break free from the molds of male or female roles, to view social injustices with a compassionate and human perspective, and to construct a broader human understanding of reality. Moreover, by blending these genres, the credibility and authenticity of the characters are examined, as well as their ability to affect the world and be in relationships: the more they hide, disguise themselves and lie, the further they drift from love. In Touch, the inauthenticity of online profiles and the technology that feeds them with hatred, lies, and lack of compassion, is the antithesis to the human connection that emerges later in the story.
The film carries the spirit of classic romantic comedies such as “Some Like It Hot” (Wilder, 1959), “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (Hawks, 1953), and “The Apartment” (Wilder, 1960), in which characters use both comedic and dramatic obstacles in their pursuit of love and self-discovery. At the heart of these romantic comedies are crime or murder plots that reflect human evil, and the characters are forced to don masks or other disguises, concoct cover stories, and lie to survive and expose injustice. Their goal is to win love, which provides moments of compassion and humanity in the face of the world’s injustices.
Simultaneously, Touch incorporates dark film noir elements, and their role is not merely stylistic but rather reflects the emotional and physical darkness enveloping the protagonist; initially, the film is shot in Adel’s darkened room, with the only light emanating from her mobile screen. This visual motif and a compelling focus on social media platforms, underscores Adel’s isolation and disconnection from the physical world, anchoring her in an idiosyncratic realm where the boundaries between reality and virtuality blur.
The seminal connection made by screenwriter and director Paul Schrader with the film noir genre in his 1972 essay “Notes on Film Noir” presented a complex picture of the links between film noir, romantic comedy, and other genres. In his essay, Schrader highlights the moral ambivalence, physical and verbal violence, and the contradictory complexity of situations and motives—elements that converge to evoke a shared sensation of torment and insecurity among viewers. Similarly, Adel’s journey in Touch unfolds against a backdrop of moral ambiguity and psychological tension within her relationships with people online. At the same time, she witnesses human injustices, images of death, and lack of fairness, reflecting the fundamental themes of classic film noir.
The journey of the protagonist in Touch towards engaging with the real world echoes Paul Schrader’s idea about the purpose of film noir to create a specific atmosphere of unrest. As Adel grapples with the consequences of her online interactions and confronts the reality of the Syrian girl’s plight, she finds herself increasingly drawn into a moral grey area. Her developing empathy and awareness serve a catalyst for existential questions. Moreover, the combination of Adel’s digital existence with the darkness of her surroundings intensifies the film’s noir aesthetic, positioning her as a modern heroine navigating the shadows of the digital landscape. As she delves deeper into the Syrian girl’s story and faces the repercussions of her actions, Adel still resists touching the real world, forcing her to confront injustices, interpersonal relationships, and romantic curiosity that are not dependent on her online comments.
Through Adel’s journey, the film invites the audience to confront its own ethical dilemmas and navigate the murky waters of the digital age, ultimately awakening with a renewed appreciation for the complexity of human connection and empathy.
The short film Touch is available at the top of the page.
