Asia (film)

Asia (אסיה) is a 2020 Israeli drama film directed by Ruthy Pribar, starring Alena Yiv and Shira Haas. The film was premiered online at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), where it won the awards for Best Actress (Shira Haas), Best Cinematography (Daniella Nowitz) as well as the Nora Ephron Prize (Ruthy Pribar). After winning Best Picture at the 30th Israeli Academy Awards (Ophir Awards), it was automatically submitted as the Israeli entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. The film won eight additional Israeli Academy Awards (Ophir Awards) out of a total twelve nominations, including both Best Leading Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Menemsha Films gained North American distribution rights to the film in June 2020, and announced its theatrical premiere at Film Forum in New York City in 2020.

Premise
Asia is a mother-daughter drama film. A thirty-five year old single mother named Asia immigrated to Jerusalem from Russia with her daughter Vika, where she works as a nurse at a hospital. IndieWire wrote:

"Asia is not your average mom. She’s free-spirited, open-minded and non-judgmental; but all that is put to the test when her teenage daughter – who happens to be differently abled – announces that she’s ready to lose her virginity."

Cast

 * Alena Yiv as Asia
 * Shira Haas as Vika
 * Tamir Mula as Gabi
 * Gera Sandler as Stas
 * Eden Halili as Natalie
 * Or Barak as Roy
 * Nadia Tichonova as Valentina
 * Mirna Fridman as Rose
 * Tatiana Machlinovski as Lena
 * Evgeny Tarlatzky as Boris

Production
Filming for Asia took place in late 2018. The film was edited by Neta Dvorkis and produced by Yoav Roeh and Aurit Zamir with casting direction by Esther Kling, the same director who assigned Shira Haas with her award-winning debut role in Princess (2014).

Release
Asia premiered online at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, which could not take place physically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is spoken in Hebrew and Russian with English subtitles. The movie had its first screening on 17 April 2020

Critical response
, the film holds approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on  reviews with an average rating of. The site's critical consensus reads, "An intelligent and touching portrait of a family at odds, Asia is an auspicious feature directorial debut for writer-director Ruthy Pribar." Eric John of IndieWire described the film as "A modest, intimate mother-daughter drama with one of the most wrenching finales in recent memory." David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Ruthy Pribar makes an assured feature debut, balancing sobriety with emotional intensity in Asia"

Accolades
After premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, the film won 3 awards: Best International Actress for Shira Haas, Best Cinematography for Daniella Nowitz and the Nora Ephron Prize for Ruthy Pribar. The latter is a $25,000 prize awarded to a female writer or filmmaker "with a distinctive voice". The jury of the festival (incl. Danny Boyle, William Hurt) wrote about Haas: "Her face is a never-ending landscape in which even the tiniest expression is heartbreaking; she’s an incredibly honest and present actress who brings depth to everything she does." After winning Best Picture at the 30th Israeli Academy Awards (Ophir Awards), it was automatically selected as the Israeli entry for consideration for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards.