Asia

Asia (Alena Yiv) and Vika (Shira Haas) are more like sisters than mother and daughter. Young mom Asia hides nothing about her work-hard, play-hard lifestyle, and expects the same openness and honesty from teenage Vika. But Vika is at an age where privacy and independence are paramount, and inevitably begins to rebel against her mom’s parenting style. With two stubborn and opinionated women under one roof, Asia finds herself in new territory and stumbles to achieve a balance between asserting her parental authority and respecting her daughter’s point of view. When health issues lead Vika to be confined to a wheelchair and her need for romantic experiences and sexual exploration becomes more urgent, Asia realizes she must get out of the way so that her daughter can live her life.

In her debut feature film, Israeli filmmaker Ruthy Pribar focuses on a pair of Russian immigrants in Israel, candidly exploring the challenges of motherhood and the desires of the differently-abled. —Miriam Garcia, Tribeca Film Festival

“An assured feature debut, balancing sobriety with emotional intensity. Actually a twin character study… (with) two superbly matched leads. This perceptively observed small-scale drama… continues to yield surprising nuances that keep you gripped. There’s delicate understatement also in the consideration of each woman’s sexuality… seldom depicted on screen.” – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“Delivers an emotional wallop.  Modest. Intimate. Subtle. Eschews sentimentalism for a patient inquisitive character study… Much of its power comes from a hypnotizing performance by Shira Haas, most recently seen as the young Hasidic community escapee on Netflix’s riveting Unorthodox… Haas’ nuanced gaze takes hold of the story, complicating its focus more than any dialogue could.” – Eric Kohn, IndieWire

Awards

Winner of 9 Israeli Academy Awards including Best Picture!
- Best Picture of the Year
- Best Actor (Alena Yiv)
- Best Supporting Actor (Shira Haas)
- Best Cinematography (Daniella Nowitz)
- Best Art Direction (Tamar Gadish)
- Best Music (Kami Postel
- Best Editing (Neta Dvorkis)
- Best Casting (Esther Kling)
- Best Makeup (Hila Elkayam)

Winner of 3 Awards!
- Best Actress (Shira Haas)
- Best Cinematography
- Nora Ephron Prize (Ruthy Pribar)
Tribeca Film Festival 2020​

Winner of 3 Awards!
- Best First Feature
- Best Actress (Alena Yiv)
- Best Cinematography
Jerusalem Film Festival 2020