Zinzana

Somewhere on the outskirts of society, behind concrete walls and barbed wire fences, live the people we prefer to forget - the ones behind bars. Forty-year-old Albert Asulin knows both sides of the world of crime. The successful warden of the two prisons - one for men and one for women - Asulin escaped his roots by rising through the ranks of the police. But he left his two brothers behind: one, a drug addict, the other a leader of a street gang. Zinzana was awarded first prize at the Jerusalem Film Festival as well as being one of four nominees at the Biarritz Festival in France as Most important TV Series in the World. Zinzana portrays a touching, yet often chilling account of a society generally hidden to the eyes of those on the outside. Based on a real person and his family (Shlomo Toizer, former head of the Ramle Prisons) and featuring dozens of true stories with a cast of over 160 actors and 50 actual inmates, the series revolves around the relationships between the inmates inside the prison as well as their relationships with friends and family on the outside. ABOUT EPISODE #1 This episode introduces many of the cast of characters as well as introducing the daily routine of prison life, the units, the cells, who rules and who submits to others. Cordoba shoots one of the Mafia's big wigs, is caught and brought to the jail. After intake, he is transferred to his cell and is received with great honor and fanfare. Asulin arrives to a first staff meeting at the prison and is received with suspicion because of his new theories on how to "open" the units and allow the the prisoners' more movement, an idea which worries the guards. Gavri is in confinement and is confronted by Asher, a guard, while taking drugs which induce a "trip". The guards and officers of the women's prison meet with Dita the new women's warden. At the meeting it becomes evident that one of the officers, Marise is bitter and disgruntled because she expected to get the job of warden. After the staff meeting, Asulin conducts his first tour of the prison wards and meets Zion, Iluz and Farez, the prison's "strong men". Sigi arrives with her little daughter to the office of the Warden.