(Israel, 2004, 100 min., Hebrew w/subtitles)
Directed by Keren Yedaya
Seventeen-year-old Or is determined to rescue her mother, Ruthie, from a dangerous and debilitating life as a prostitute. Or tries to hold her family together by washing dishes in a café, collecting deposit bottles, occasionally attending school, and finding her mom a job as a cleaning woman. But when Ruthie returns home badly beaten after a night on the streets, Or decides to take drastic measures to change their lives. Director Keren Yedaya draws from her work with Tel Aviv's disadvantaged youth and former prostitutes to paint a gritty, heartbreaking picture of a mother and daughter struggling against extreme poverty. Winner of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival best first film award. Nudity and sexually explicit situations.
Click here to read the 2005 Program Book essay on this film.
