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Marek Rozenbaum

Producers:

,

Chen Shumowitz

The Parasite

Lab Edition

2

2023

LOGLINE

Scarred by a traumatic breakup, a dedicated social worker at a women's shelter encounters a charismatic man who promises the life of her dreams. Despite her professional expertise, she’s oblivious to the red flags and succumbs to his charms. When she tries to break free, she discovers it's too late.

SYNOPSIS

Daphne is a dedicated social worker at a women’s shelter working with teenage girls who moved there with their mothers. After a painful breakup, Daphne's sister persuades her to join a empowerment workshop. That’s where she meets Elad. From the moment the two started sharing their secrets, they’re completely inseparable. She’s flattered by his acts of jealousy, he dreams of the day they start a family. Elad moves in with Daphne, and soon enough he proposes.

Moral is a bright teenager from the shelter and in love with Johnny, a juvenile delinquent. Their relationship worries Daphne. She fears that Moral, a skilled athlete, will get carried away and stop training regularly.

When Elad loses his job, he grows more and more demanding of Daphne’s attention. His neediness charms her; she’s never met such a sensitive man. During a tasting for their upcoming wedding, Daphne is urgently called to the shelter. Moral’s father has found the shelter’s address and is there now, trying to convince Moral’s mother to get back with him. Elad feels betrayed and upset that Daphne left at such a crucial moment.

He keeps looking for faults in the way Daphne conducts herself, indicating her loyalty to Moral as the reason their relationship went awry. They fight endlessly, to the point of mutual acts of violence. Daphne informs Elad that she wants to postpone their wedding and take some time off. Reminding her that she is the biggest advocate of people’s ability to change, Elad uses all kinds of manipulations and begs her not to give up on him, on them. Daphne forgives him and their relationship is seemingly back on track. But after she falls asleep he secretly installs a spyware app on her phone.

Despite Daphne's professional expertise, she’s oblivious to the red flags and succumbs to his charms. The series will follow the chain of events leading her to fall into Elad’s web, including the moment she realizes she has been trapped and her feeble attempts to escape – until it’s too late.

WRITER'S STATEMENT

"The Parasite" is inspired by Michal Sela's case. She was a social worker who was leading a double life. Her murder shocked everyone around her. She had never told a soul about the abuse she was suffering in the hands of her husband, Eliran. As bad as it was, he had never raised a hand on her, and therefore she wasn’t aware of just how dangerous he is and didn’t recognize the signs that started from the beginning of their relationship. Having volunteered in the Michal Sela Forum, I had the privilege of getting to know her family from up close. In this process, I learned that emotional, financial and physical abuse usually have the same patterns and signs. Women from all across the country, of all races, religions and classes are paying a much too heavy price, and the spotlight needs to be shifted. In her manifest (titled “The Parasite”), Lili Ben-Ami explains this principle well by comparing the murdering husband to a parasite: “The parasite lacks means to sustain its own life, and feeds on the other, the stronger, which acts as a host. The parasite clings onto the powerful, compassionate host and turns her into its food, sucking his life force from her.” Lili, who is Michal’s sister and head of The Michal Sela Forum, will act as the series consultant.
So, what brings a successful young woman, whose life’s work revolves around helping women, fall into a destructive relationship with an abusive man? And on the other hand, what tragic chain of events turns a man into a full-on narcissist and even a murderer? What happens behind closed doors, just before the murder takes place? Are all women in danger of being murdered and all men in danger of becoming murderers? "The Parasite" will allow viewers a glimpse of this subject from an angle less explored; through daily life, the destructive dynamic that repeats itself over and over again. There will be moments when this outcry will be hard to bear, but my hope is that it will shed light on the matter and do some justice to all those strong women who only wanted to be loved.

PRODUCER'S STATEMENT

The project started as a character based true story-case study. As we progressed we understood that we are dealing with a behavioural pattern which appears in almost every violent relationship when a man tries to possess his woman partner. A repetitive step deal, where at the end, the woman either breaks out of the relationship or dies. I believe the story is universal, and happens in every country and society. The pattern stays the same. As such, I strongly believe in the relevance of this series worldwide, and I am looking forward to finding collaborators.

LOOKING FOR

Sales agents, Co-producers, Broadcasters

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