NEXT TO HER

Dir. Asaf Korman (90min, Israel, 2014)
Hebrew with English Subtitles
Narrative
Mid-Atlantic Premiere

Chelli is raising her mentally disabled sister Gabby all by herself. When the social worker discovers she leaves her sister alone in the house while at work, Chelli is forced to place her in a day-care center and the void left by her sister’s absence makes room for a man in her life.

That man tears another hole in the sisters’ symbiotic relationship, and the three are slowly drawn into a strange triangle, where boundaries between love, sacrifice, nurturing, and torturing are broken. With mesmerizing performances from two female leads: Dana Ivgy (Broken Wings, Zero Motivation) and Liron Ben-Shlush.

Co-presented by Next Dor DC, Center for Israel Studies, American University, GW Feminist Student Union and Gather The Jews.

Asaf Korman has been making films and music since he was sixteen. His shorts have been well received and awarded at international film festivals. He studied at the Minshar School of Arts and his graduate film Death of Shula was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2007.

He is currently one of Israel’s most sought-after film editors and has worked on such films as Big Bad Wolves (dir. Navot Paposhado, Aharon Keshales) and Jaffa (dir. Keren Yedaya), the later of which competed at Cannes in 2009, as well as The Slut (dir. Hagar Ben Asher, 2011) and God’s Neighbors (dir. Meni Yaesh, 2012), both screened during Critics’ Week at the Cannes IFF.

His feature debut Next to Her was also shown at Cannes this year, this time as part of Directors’ Fortnight.

“A strikingly lensed debut feature from Israeli helmer Asaf Korman. Inspired by the experiences of his wife, Liron Ben-Shlush, who penned the screenplay and plays the lead role, the film centers on Chelli, a pretty security guard, who is raising her mentally disabled younger sister Gabby (Dana Ivgy) on her own.” -Variety