In this poignant drama claiming top prize at the Israeli Academy Awards, Shira Haas is exceptional as a rebellious teen dealing with a progressive illness and fraught relationship with her free-spirited mother. A single parent at an early age, Asia (Alena Yiv) emigrated from Russia with daughter Vika, and works long hours as a nurse in Jerusalem. Both are stubborn, opinionated and brusque. As Vika enters adulthood, she tests boundaries and inevitably rebels against her mother's lax parenting. But as her daughter’s health worsens, Asia must become the mother Vika desperately needs. A bravely unsentimental rumination on mother­hood, desire and mortality, the assured feature debut of writer-director Ruthy Pribar is Israel's Best International Feature Film Oscar submission.