Military service is compulsory in Israel for all Jewish men and women. After their years of service, they are granted a discharge bonus, which many of them use to fly to India to recover from their experiences. Approximately 90 per cent will use drugs during their stay, and each year some two thousand of them will need professional help due to this drug use. The psychotic break with reality they experience is commonly referred to as Flipping Out.

Shot over a period of two years by award-winning documentary filmmaker Yoav Shamir, Flipping Out offers a close-up look at these former soldiers, most of them under the age of 25, as they follow this strange post-military odyssey. Intense and moving, Flipping Out pulls back the curtain on a dangerous rite of passage for many young Jewish soldiers and reveals one of the largely hidden prices of Israeli occupation and years of war.

Directed and Filmed by: Yoav Shamir

Producer: Kent Martin, Phillipa Kowarsky, Michael Sharfshtein

Editor: Era Lapid

Music: Ophir Leibovitch

Sound Editor: Alex Salter

Canada – Israel Co-Production

Watch Trailer: http://www.nfb.ca/playlists/atlantic-film-festival-2008/viewing/flipping-out-stub-540279