WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE Asian New Classics

Winner of the Israeli Academy’s Best Picture Ophir Award and is Israel’s official Oscar® submission for the Best Foreign Language Film. This film is a rare and moving examination of both human and exploitive relations between migrant workers and their adopted society. Director Eyal Holfon dares to explore the nature of compassion between outsiders and the ostracized.

Franco (Uri Govriel) is a gruff ex-police officer turned mob enforcer who helps smuggle prostitutes into the country from Eastern Europe. Still, he can’t admit to his son that he doesn’t know how to swim. Jana (Evelyn Kaplun) is a bright Russian prostitute whose birthmark limits her earning potential. Mild-mannered Zelter (Avi Orio) is a compulsive overeater who runs a farm staffed by Thai laborers. And Yoav (Yoav Hait) is the local ranger who harasses the Thais, between visits to his suicidal and bitter wheelchair-ridden father.

As their stories converge, it becomes clear that each of them harbors an intense desire to escape their isolation and make human contact, regardless of the risk.