What a Wonderful Place

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

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.