Fill the Void (Hebrew: למלא את החלל - lemale et ha'ḥalal) is a 2012 Israeli drama film written and directed by Rama Burshtein.

Burshtein, who was doubtful as to how much of the process would be completed, took a step-by-step approach, focusing first on the writing, then on accumulating enough funding for the project, followed by the filming and editing.

[8] Shira Mendelman, an 18-year-old Hasidic girl living in Tel Aviv, is looking forward to an arranged marriage with a young man whom she likes.

He and Shira both initially oppose the prospect, though he eventually warms to it, and she agrees to take it into consideration on learning that her previous engagement has been called off due to her father's delays.

[4] In doing so, she hoped to create a greater understanding of the Haredi community, in part by dispelling the common misconceptions that women are often forced into arranged marriages; despite the differences in structure, the woman is always given the final say in whom she marries.

[8] Burshtein also deliberately avoided depicting a divide between the religious and secular Jews, a theme that commonly appears in films about the Haredim.

[11] Merry suggested that, regardless of cultural differences, the story is universal, due to "its themes of loss and family loyalty, not to mention the realization that life may not align with our idealized expectations".

[11] Boston Globe correspondent Peter Keough agreed that the "themes of love and loss, self-sacrifice and self-preservation" are applicable to audiences both in and outside the Haredi community.

[12] John Podhoretz, an editor of The Weekly Standard, was surprised that the "state of grace" featured prominently in Fill the Void, perceiving it to be an uncommon concept in Jewish movies.

Burshtein remarked that Klein "is a big star in Israel, and has played a pimp, a homosexual, and a cop (among many other roles); so, I was not sure you could really believe him as this Orthodox guy.

As most of the main cast was not from the Haredi community, Burshtein instructed them to attend all of the major events that take place within the film, including a wedding and a circumcision.

"[8] Burshtein considered including a scene in which Shira and Yochay kissed about halfway through the movie but decided against it, believing that the energy would be lost.

[14] Cinematographer Asaf Sudry assisted in conveying to the audience that the marriage between the lead characters would eventually take place by frequently using sunlight for their scenes.

"[14] While a "documentary feel" was retained throughout most of the film's duration, the style was switched for the wedding scene to create a euphoric atmosphere similar to those used in productions by Terrence Malick and David Lynch.

[3] The song "Im Eshkachech Yerushalayim" (Hebrew: אם אשכחך ירושלים, 'If I Forget Thee Jerusalem') features prominently in the film, playing at all three of the major events: the funeral, the Bris Milah, and the wedding.

"[13] The New York Post critic Farran Smith Nehme disagreed, writing, "While the social milieu is nicely realized, other parts of the drama are not.

Not so Israeli director Rama Burshtein's exquisitely acted, radiantly shot, and delicately nuanced "Fill the Void," a melodrama set in the ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jewish community of Tel Aviv.

By bringing to life complex and sympathetic characters in a precisely observed setting and social framework, and by presenting that isolated world as a microcosm, Burshtein has achieved a gripping film without victims or villains, an ambiguous tragedy drawing on universal themes of love and loss, self-sacrifice and self-preservation.

[12]Deborah Young from The Hollywood Reporter also published a good review, adding that it was "more realistic than beautiful, though when the story calls for it she has no trouble injecting poetry into a scene.

"[16] A review in Slant Magazine was equally positive, adding that the film used "long static takes, restricting her shots largely to interiors and strategically alternating between depth staging and blurry backgrounds, Rama Burshtein brings a sense of inevitability and constriction to the insular world of Israeli Hassidic Judaism.

"[18] More broadly, Screen International suggested that director "Burshtein paints a perfect bubble that can last only as long as it has no contact with the world outside (no secular presence is allowed in here).

Jane Esiner from The New York Times suggested that, "While the film may deliver a message at odds with contemporary feminism in the eyes of some critics, the movie portrays female characters with a strength that is both subtle and believable.

"[27] A. O. Scott, also from The New York Times, added, "Their routines are dominated by prayer, ritual observance and obedience to Jewish law, but their world does not seem narrow and austere.

[29] It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion award at the 69th Venice International Film Festival,[30] and Hadas Yaron won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.