Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

July 2 - 10, 2010

What a Wonderful Place
( Eize makom nifla )

Colour, 35 mm
Israel, 2005, 104 min
WP – World premiere
Section: Official Selection - Competition

Director: Eyal Halfon
Screenplay: Eyal Halfon
Dir. of Photography: Nili Aslan
Music: Avi Belleli
Designer: Ido Dolev
Editor: Einat Glaser Zarhin
Producer: Yoav Roeh, Assaf Amir
Production: Norma Productions
Contact: Norma Productions

Cast

Evelyn Kaplun, Uri Gavriel, Avi Oria

Synopsis

Near the Arava border crossing, several Ukrainian women pass through the barbed wire separating Israel from Jordan. On the other side of the border a former policeman named Franco picks them up. He now works for a gangster boss who runs an organized prostitution ring in the area. Franco takes an interest in Jana, and she’s also being sought out by a dumpy looking farmer named Zeltzer who has found a bag of hers containing photographs of her loved ones. The Thais that work on Zeltzer’s farm are being persecuted by Officer Eloni, a tough cop who simply doesn’t like them. He’s got to look after his disabled father and the only one who can help out is a Philippine gambling junkie named Eddie. Not surprisingly, his gambling debts have gotten him in Dutch with the gangster boss.... These three seemingly unconnected stories unfold in a multiethnic environment. Structured as a mosaic, the drama offers a surprising perspective on social conditions in a region lying near the Dead Sea.

About the director

Eyal Halfon (Netanya, Israel) graduated in history from Tel Aviv University. He has held jobs as a guide, lifeguard and journalist. In 1991 he wrote the script for the war movie Cup Final, and three years later he debuted as a director with the romantic drama The Italians Are Coming. Between 1995 and 2002 he shot eight medium-length documentaries. He received the greatest acclaim, however, for Circus Palestina (1998), a feature that took five Israeli Film Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Halfon’s latest writer-director creation, InSights (2003), won Best Drama at the festival in Jerusalem.