Next to Her, a film about two sisters

Next to Her את לי לילה  , directed by Asaf Korman, was the big prize-winner at the last Haifa Film Festival, October 2014. This is an emotional and hard-hitting film about caring for a disabled sister, about relationships, about frustration and loneliness.

The film tells the story of two sisters living together in Haifa.  Gabby is mentally-challenged.  She is cared for by her older sister, Cheli, who works during the day as a security guard at a local high school.  It isn't easy to care for such a sister.  The difficulties, loneliness and frustrations are all apparent.  Eventually Cheli finds a day-care program for her sister and begins to take her there regularly, while she is at work.   But they are still very close, sleeping together every night, bathing together, sharing a somewhat ambivalent relationship.  Eventually Cheli meets a guy -- he's the substitute gym teacher at the high school.  As expected, this begins to affect the relationship between the sisters.

According to an interview on Israeli Radio with the screenwriter, Liron Ben Shlush (who plays Cheli and is the wife of the film director), the image of the sister takes inspiration from her own sister.  The story of the film was born in an acting workshop where she decided to write a scene about what would have happened to her if she hadn't had such a supportive family around her, how her life would have been different.

In fact, the viewer wonders about this too.   Just when we are asking ourselves about  the rest of the family, the mother pays a visit and we realize that she is not capable of caring for Gabby.  She has no empathy or love for her severely-disabled daughter.  

This is an artistic yet realistic film.  The pacing is superb, and the acting by both of the lead women characters (Cheli is played by Ben Shlush and Gabby is played by Dana Ivgy) is a tour-de-force.  As the film draws you in, the twists in the narrative cause you to gasp, and the hard-hitting nature of the material leaves you extraordinarily affected long after.

The title of the film in Hebrew, את לי לילה , At Li Laylah, is taken from a Boaz Sharabi song, which you can listen to on youtube. 

Next to Her was produced by United King.

Student Films from Ma'aleh

Just last week, I had the opportunity of attending the screening of this year's graduation films from the Ma'aleh Film School.    I love viewing and analyzing student films because they provide us with a window into the subjects that are of concern to the younger generation.  If you are doing film programming, take note of this year's group of six films which are of particularly high quality and definitely worthwhile!  There are three short dramas, one video-art and two documentaries.

Three Short Dramas

Muktzeh

short drama, 28 min., Dir: Alon Rabinovich

Valdimir is the lighting technician at the Jerusalem Theater, but he dreams of much more -- he wants to be an actor and play Shylock on the stage.  This is an interesting and authentic drama about Jewish identity, about who is a Jew, and about who has a monopoly on being Jewish. 

Riding his bike to work one day, Vladimir meets an old friend from Russia who has become haredi and is helping people put on tefillin on Ben Yehuda St.  His friend puts the tefillin on him and Vladimir is quite moved by the experience.  But he finds it a challenge to discuss with his wife the changes that he is feeling.   The story develops and it is interesting to see how the couple eventually finds their way.

The Little Dictator

short drama, 29 min., Dir: Nurit Cohn

Yossi is a nerdy professor whose area of specialization is totalitarian leadership.  Unappreciated by his students, Yossi goes home at the end of the day to a domineering wife and three children.  At a family weekend where the extended family is celebrating Grandma's 90th birthday, he finds himself in a surreal situation, but is able to vindicate himself.  A tour-de-force in acting and directing. 

The French Revolution

short drama, 21 min., Dir: Hai Afik

A noisy street disturbance bursts into the home of a young couple as two hooligans barge in and destroy their well-being.  A very hard-hitting film about cruelty, humiliation and self-respect.

Video-Art

Wall, Crevice, Tear 

video-art, 11 min., no language, Dir.: Tehila Ra'anan

A poetic visit to the Kotel (Western Wall).  This is a film of beauty and yearning,  filmed during different seasons of the year, expressing  feelings about the meaning of the Kotel for both the pious and the secular. 

About Disabilities - Two documentaries

Hannah is Beautiful

doc., 22 min., Dir.: Shira Meisher

Hannah is a 37-year-old woman with mental challenges, who lives in an apartment sponsored by the non-profit organization, Shekel.  This is a touching look at a woman who desperately wishes she could find love.  She works full-time in a government cafeteria and is terribly disappointed when she is refused a raise.  She takes great care with what she wears, her make-up, how she looks.  On the one hand, we've seen films like this before.  On the other, it is a poignant portrait of a wonderful woman who believes that she has to make the best of what life has given her.  

Mazal Means Luck

doc., 29 min., Dir: Mazal Ben-Yishai

The filmmaker's parents are mentally challenged and the filmmaker was brought up in one household by both her parents and grandparents.  In fact, the film beautifully integrates old family movies in order to tell the story of this remarkable family.  Now that her grandparents are getting older, they are grappling with where her parents will go to live when the grandparents are gone.  Is it the young woman's responsibility to live with her parents, sacrificing her life to them in order to take care of them?