108 minutes. 2004. Director: Avi Nesher (Dizengoff 99, The Secrets, Rage & Glory, Doppelganger). With Neta Garty, Liraz Charhi, Aure Atika, Ruby Porat Shoval, Jean Benguigui and Mariano Idelman (Eretz Nehederet). In Hebrew, French, English and Arabic with English subtitles. Genres: Period Dramedy
Taormina Film Festival, Grand Prix Award
Ophir Awards for Best Art Direction and Costume Design
Described as hilarious and devastating, bleak and beautiful, Turn Left captures the clash of cultures in a socially turbulent Israel during 1969. When a few English-speaking Indian families immigrate to a small town in the Negev inhabited by mostly French- and Arabic-speaking Moroccan immigrants, mutual perceptions of superiority bloom into a cultural war. But there are glimmers of hope as two teenage girls forge a friendship, and the two groups bond over cricket. Some scenes may offend sensitive viewers.
No shortage of thought-provoking dialogue
About the Filmaker
Avi Nesher
One of Israel’s most influential filmmakers, Avi Nesher was born in Ramat Gan, Israel, but spent much of his adolescence in New York, where he graduated high school and enrolled at Columbia University at age 16. At 18, he left Columbia to serve in a special forces branch of the Israeli army, Sayeret Matkal. Nesher’s early films (The Troupe, Dizengoff 99, Rage & Glory) became Israeli classics. During the 1990’s, Nesher worked in Hollywood, where he made Doppelganger starring Drew Barrymore and The Taxman starring Joe Pantoliano. In 2004, he moved back to Israel, directing, producing and writing Turn Left at the End of the World, a film that became Israel’s greatest box office success. In 2007, he directed The Secrets, and in 2010, The Matchmaker, both of which premiered at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival. The Wonders (2013) has also received much critical and popular acclaim. Avi Nesher is the recipient of many awards, among them Cinematic Excellence Awards at the Jerusalem and Haifa Film Festivals and the Landau Prize for Excellence in the Arts.
