Umbilical Cord

In memory of Eitan Nachman

Born in Tiberias, 1st of Tammuz, 5715 (June 21, 1955). Fell on 8th of Tevet, 5735 (December 19, 1974)

In their childhood, Eitan and Benny spoke a secret language that only they understood. It was impossible to separate them. Eitan was killed while serving in the army and his brother Benny describes felt a huge loss as a result and an almost physical pain at the moment of his brother's death. Reut Boretz and Nir Philosoph, the creators of the clip, chose to represent the connection between them by means of the umbilical cord. 

When they were just five years old, Eitan and his twin brother Benny spoke a secret language that only they understood. Esther, their mother, would look at them and try in vain to understand the conversation. At school, they were sometimes like one entity: If the teacher called Benny up to the board in a subject that Eitan was good at, then Eitan would go up, and vice versa. When the two discovered the charm of the other gender, they couldn’t bear the idea that it would be a separate experience—you couldn’t share the girls. They made up for it with the stories they would whisper to each other at night. Sometimes, when they couldn’t restrain themselves, one of them would go on the other’s date, in order to see things from up close and to be able to give an accurate opinion. Obviously, in the end he would confess the trickery to the girl.

In the army, each of them carried a notebook in his shirt pocket, in which he would write down his thoughts and experiences and later would include them in a letter to the other. There is no experience that they didn’t write down, minute after minute. It was important to them that what one experienced, the other would as well. 

Eitan loved sports and participated in every type of sport there was at school. He played soccer with Hapoel Tel Aviv and trained in track and field with Hapoel Ramat Gan. Towards the end of elementary school, his manual dexterity became clear and he registered for the Melton ORT Technical High School in Bat Yam. As his specialization, he chose the mechanics course. His two loves—sports and his profession—trained Eitan well for eventually becoming a top-notch soldier in the IDF.

 At the end of July 1973, he joined the army. He remembered his father’s stories and wanted to follow in his footsteps to the Artillery Corps. He got his wish. On Thursday the 8th of Tevet, 5735 (December 19, 1974), he was killed while on duty. He was only 19 and a half when he died. He was buried in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. Eitan left behind his parents, a brother and a sister. In a condolences letter to his bereaved parents, his commander wrote: “Eitan, the crew commander, was quiet and modest and was loved and accepted by the soldiers under him. He was the first to volunteer and was a role model to both soldiers and other commanders.”

Interview with Benny, Eitan's twin brother

Thoughts from Reut Boretz and Nir Philosoph who created the film:

The clip as a dialogue
The story of Eitan Nachman z”l is essentially the story of them both. Benny and Eitan were twin brothers and the connection between them was tragically and unexpectedly cut short. Benny remained alive; his brother Eitan fell in the army. 

When we read the story of the Nachman brothers for the first time, what moved us most was the special connection between them and their brave partnership. Already at a young age, they shared everything—from clothes and toys to a secret language. We felt that the connection between the twins should be the main focal point of the film. We decided that the umbilical cord, which connects the brothers from the day they were born until the day Eitan died, would represent the connection between them and their unique language. 

The clip, which proceeds as a dialogue, follows the twins from the moment of their birth, by way of their shared experiences and finally their first separation during the army and the Yom Kippur War which led to the cutting of the physical connection between them. Throughout, the focus is on the unique language they created. The viewer experiences the connection between them as a real physical connection—the umbilical cord. It is used to present the ideas, thoughts and feelings of the two brothers. 

In designing the clip, we took a highly minimalistic approach. We believe that animation has its own power and does not need much in order to convey a story and to reveal emotions – even a single line, that moves in the right way, can create an entire story. 

The work on the film was very emotional since we felt very connected to the characters and the people they represent. The opportunity given to us, as artists and creators, to bring to life a story about a person who is no longer alive is moving and empowering and we felt privileged to create a work filled with meaning. We hope that we have succeeded in capturing even a little of the story of Eitan Nachman z”l and his brother Benny.