If Man Could Fly

On weekdays, 14-year-old Matan lives at a boarding school, but on weekends he stays with his mother. Matan does not have many friends, but he does have lots of pigeons. At school, he keeps fancy pigeons that he is extremely proud of. He shows us how beautiful their feathers and crests are and talks lovingly about them. He learned everything about pigeons from his hero and neighbour Misha, who has hundreds of these birds and can tell great stories about them. But Matan is eager to learn even more about pigeons. Feathers in his hair, he visits the school library to pore over animal books. Pigeons are everything to him. "When people hurt my pigeons, they hurt me," he tells a school supervisor. Matan explains that up until a few years ago, he was out of control. "I never studied, I hit my teachers and threw chairs around." All local schools refused to admit him. Today, things seem to have improved, although the situation at home is still problematic, as Matan often argues with his mother. Because he will soon come to live with her permanently, Matan wants to build his own dovecot, but he meets with some heated opposition.