Asia (film)

Asia (Hebrew: 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.[1] 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.[2]

Asia
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRuthy Pribar
Written byRuthy Pribar
Produced by
  • Yoav Roeh
  • Aurit Zamir
  • Janja Kralj (associate)
Starring
CinematographyDaniella Nowitz
Edited byNeta Dvorkis
Distributed byMenemsha Films
Release date
  • April 17, 2020 (2020-04-17) (Tribeca)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryIsrael
Languages
  • Hebrew
  • Russian

Premise

Asia is a mother-daughter drama film.[3][4][5] 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.[3][6][7] IndieWire wrote:[8]

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.[9][10] The film was edited by Neta Dvorkis and produced by Yoav Roeh and Aurit Zamir with casting direction by Esther Kling,[11] the same director who assigned Shira Haas with her award-winning debut role in Princess (2014).[12]

Release

Asia premiered online at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, which could not take place physically due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13][14] The film is spoken in Hebrew and Russian with English subtitles.[8] The movie had its first screening on 17 April 2020[15][16]

Reception

Critical response

As of October 2021, the film holds a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 29 reviews with an average rating of 7.3/10. 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."[17] Eric John of IndieWire described the film as "A modest, intimate mother-daughter drama with one of the most wrenching finales in recent memory."[3] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Ruthy Pribar makes an assured feature debut, balancing sobriety with emotional intensity in Asia"[7]

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.[18] The latter is a $25,000 prize awarded to a female writer or filmmaker "with a distinctive voice".[19] 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."[20] 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.[21]

List of awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2020
 Israeli Academy Awards (Ophir Awards) Best Picture Ruthy Pribar Won [22][23]
Best Lead Actress Alena Yiv Won
Best Supporting Actress Shira Haas Won
Best Editing Neta Dvorkis Won
Best Casting Esther Kling Won
Best Original Score Karni Postel Won
Best Photography Daniella Nowitz Won
Best Art Direction Tamar Gadish Won
Best Makeup Hila Elkayam Won
Best Director Ruthy Pribar Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Best Sound Design Amir Buberman, Seagull & Gull Nominated
Best Costume Design Inbal Shuki Nominated

See also

References
  1. Brown, Hannah (13 November 2020). "Asia wins the Ophir Award and will represent Israel at the Oscars". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. Wiseman, Andreas (June 24, 2020). "Tribeca Drama 'Asia', With 'Unorthodox' Star Shira Haas, Scores North America Deal — Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  3. Kohn, Eric (24 April 2020). "'Asia' Review: 'Unorthodox' Star Shira Haas Is Devastating in Emotional Mother-Daughter Drama". IndieWire. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  4. "Israeli movie 'Asia' scoops 3 prizes at Tribeca Film Festival". Times of Israel. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  5. "'Unorthodox' Star Shira Haas Wins Best Actress for Tribeca Festival Film". Jewish Journal. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  6. Harvey, Mary-Catherine (18 April 2020). "Tribeca Film Festival 2020: Asia | Review". The Upcoming. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  7. Rooney, David (20 April 2020). "'Asia': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  8. Erbland, Kate (3 March 2020). "Tribeca 2020 Unveils Features Lineup: 'The Trip to Greece,' 'King of Staten Island,' 'Bad Education,' and 'Shirley'". IndieWire. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  9. "Shira Haas on Instagram: "ASIA & VIKA. On-screen mother and daughter. 3 days left for shooting 🙏🏻🎥 #asia"". Instagram. 8 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  10. "Shira Haas on Instagram: "DAY 18 💙🎥 #asia by @hilaelkayam"". Instagram. 5 November 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  11. "Asia | 2020 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  12. Levin, Talia (7 April 2019). "שירה האס: "הבראתי לפני 20 שנה, אך אין ספק שהסרטן הוא חלק ממני"" [Shira Haas: 'I gave it up 20 years ago, but the cancer is definitely still a part of me']. Maariv. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  13. Kay, Jeremy (4 March 2020). "Tribeca Film Festival to premiere select content online". Screen International. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  14. "2020 Tribeca Film Festival® announces feature lineup of films". Tribeca Film Festival. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  15. Karten, Harvey (24 April 2020). "Asia Movie Review". Shock Ya. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  16. "ASIA – movie review". Big Apple Reviews. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  17. "Asia (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  18. Davis, RaVal (30 April 2020). "Women Win Big At 2020 Tribeca Film Festival Awards: Alice Wu, Ruthy Pribar, Lena Waithe, Tiffany Johnson, Julia Jansch And More". Forbes. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  19. Hanna, Beth (16 April 2020). "Tribeca Film Festival Announces Creation of Nora Ephron Prize, Recognizes Woman Writer or Director with Distinctive Voice". IndieWire. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  20. Brown, Hannah (30 April 2020). "Israeli actress Shira Haas wins Best Actress award at Tribeca Festival". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  21. Brown, Hannah (22 September 2020). "'Asia,' 'Here We Are' among Ophir nominees". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  22. Tucker, Ina (22 September 2020). "פרסי אופיר: "אסיה" מוביל במספר המועמדויות" [Ophir Awards: "Asia" leads in the number of nominations]. Ynet. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  23. טוקר, אינה (13 November 2020). "פרסי אופיר 2020: "אסיה" הוא נציג ישראל לאוסקר" [Ophir 2020 Awards: "Asia" is Israel's representative for the Oscars]. Ynet. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
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