Inspired by true events, "The Tailor's Apprentice" depicts a struggling father-son relationship in the midst of a drug smuggling scheme.

 

Helick hopes one day to pass on his South Philadelphia tailor shop to his son, Dovid. Their tense relationship stems from Helick's strict Judaic religious lifestyle. Using religion as a tool to hide from a dark past, he pushes his children away with his over controlling ways and neglects to show them love and care. In doing so, Dov impulsively runs away to aid in a drug smuggling operation in an attempt to prove his independence and finds that he has been manipulated and used for his tailoring skills to line drugs into suits. Trapped in the center of a world filled with drugs, sex and murder, Dov has no way to escape.

 

With the absence of his son, Helick is forced ultimately to decide between his religion, or his family. 

 

The importance of this film is to explore ideas of why people may have a certain belief system in place, particularly Judaism; rather than a full concentration on religious themes, the film explores the cultural aspects involved with self-identity.  Searching for balance, happiness and quality of life, the story prompts the audience to question their own beliefs, and why they may have a certain ideological mind set.

 

Furthermore, the film explores the role of family, specifically the relationship between parent and child; demonstrating the idea of, "the apple does not fall to far from the tree".  The Tailor's Apprentice aims to illustrates this type of intimacy; the passing of wisdom and knowledge from parent to child.

 

The Story

The Filmmaker

Jeff Lehman 

Writer / Producer / Director

Jeff Lehman is an independent filmmaker and film educator from Philadelphia, PA, currently living and working in Orlando, FL. With a background in music, theater and studio art, he left his corporate and educational video production business to attend the University of Central Florida in order to shape and hone his craft as a narrative filmmaker; in August 2013 he received his Master of Fine Arts degree in film. Lehman also serves as a course director at Full Sail University, teaching graduate level film courses to students. Beyond his teachings, he has produced over 25 commercial and promotional spots for businesses world wide including the U.S. Army, Ritz Carlton, Anheuser-Busch, and Toshiba. Along with his commercial work, he has produced and acted as Director of Photography on several award-winning short narrative films. Determined to continually learn and grow, Lehman is the driving force behind his feature-length directorial debut of The Tailor’s Apprentice.

 

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Awards & Achievements

OFFICIAL SELECTION, 2015 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival

OFFICIAL SELECTION, 2014 Orlando Film Festival

OFFICIAL SELECTION, 2014 New Hope Film Festival

 

JURY AWARD - BEST PICTURE, 2014 New Hope Film Festival

AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST MID ATLANTIC FILM, 2014 New Hope Film Festival

OPENING NIGHT FILM, 2015 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival

BEST ACTOR (Rowan Bousaid, Dovid), 2015 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival