Like Father, Like Daughter
Like Father, Like Daughter
Tom Nesher, daughter of legendary Israeli director Avi Nesher, just won the Ophir Award (Israeli Oscar) for Best Director. She's only 27.
We live in a golden age of entertainment. Streaming services have boosted the amount of content available at our fingertips at any moment. This is sometimes solely to the benefit of quantity and not always quality, but there are some diamonds in the rough.
As people move away from the cinema, certain movies can be overlooked as their release might be less anticipated than in the past. Even if in Israel one may bring their own snacks and drinks, alcoholic or not, fewer people are flocking to the movie theaters.
This can dampen the excitement around a film’s release, but the Oscars haven’t really changed in their popularity. Israel has its own Oscars called the Ophir Awards where directors, actors, screenwriters, and other creatives are given honor.
Best in Show
All in all, “Come Closer” had 12 nominations and won the Awards for Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Leading Actress for Lia Elalouf, and Best Editing.1
As “Come Closer” won the Ophir Award for Best Movie, it automatically becomes Israel’s nomination for Best International Film in the Oscars.
It even won the Viewpoint Award at the Tribeca Film Festival in June - surprising as I’d think the Tribeca crowd would be anti-Israel.
According to the Tribeca Film Festival website, “Tribeca’s home for distinct points of view and bold directorial visions, Viewpoints discovers the most boundary-pushing, rule-breaking new voices in independent film.”
According to the judges at Tribeca2:
“When choosing a winner, our decision was unanimous; this film pulled us all in from just a few frames, and we felt that we were in skillful hands, as it is fiercely executed and superbly performed.”
Origins
Tom’s multi-award-winning film touches on some of her own past. “Come Closer” is a personal film about a young man who is killed in a car accident. His sister, who was very close to him, discovers that he had a secret girlfriend. The film details the experiences that his sister and girlfriend have together in learning more about who their loved one really was.3
The movie’s premise is drawn from a personal tragedy of Tom’s. Her brother was killed in a hit-and-run accident just after his seventeenth birthday in 2018.
Background
In order to learn more about the person sitting in the director’s chair, Tom was born in 1996 in Los Angeles. Her family moved back to Israel when she was five and a half years old.
She studied cinema at the Tel Aviv School for the Arts, was a narrator for the army’s radio station, Galei Tzahal (not to be confused with Galgalatz), and then studied screenplays at Sam Spiegel film school in Jerusalem. She then completed her BA in Literature and History at Tel Aviv University4.
Paving Her Own Path
In the US, nepo baby accusations ring loudly for several Hollywood stars. This is generally saved for the acting world.
Directing is seen as such an art form and involved craft that advantages based on birth might help, but they don’t ensure success.
Another example of a child of a legendary director is Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of Ron Howard. She has been solidly building up her directing resume and I don’t hear any cries of nepotism. In this case, there are famous examples that show that it is cool that a child went into the family business. The same with athletes. Especially in the world of connections that exist in Israel, I think that Tom’s major accomplishment was earned on her own merit and skill.
As there are very few things that offer a full escape from the reality on the ground in Israel, the usually elegant Ophir Awards ceremony took on a subdued feel.
As a tribute to all of the loss this year, The Ophir Awards were reasonably somber5.
“For the first time in 32 years, the Israeli Academy of Film and Television decided not to award a Lifetime Achievement Award and instead chose to pay its last respects to those whose lives were lost on October 7 and during the continuing war.”6
In these times, it’s important to celebrate victories and happy things once in a while, but similar to breaking a glass at a Jewish wedding, the Jewish people know how important it is to remember.
Song of the Week
יש לי מקום
Yeish lee muh-koem
I have a place/space
Roni wrote this song about her daughter and she emanates love and belonging. I just watched an interview with her and the journalist called it the Song of the Year. That honor will only be revealed on October 1 as Galgalatz’s annual list of the best songs comes out.
Slang of the Week
אחרי החגים
Ach-ah-ray ha-chag-eem
After the holidays
This isn’t official slang, but it has come to mean that something will be put off until it’s dealt with sometime in late October/some time in November.
I.e. When are we cleaning out the garage? After the chagim. We’ll see…
Thank you kindly for reading this week’s post. I hope that you will continue to read and enjoy. I’d be grateful if you could tell one friend or family member to give it a try.
Thank you for your partnership as we learn and grow.
Wishing you a Shabbat shalom and a quiet and safe weekend!
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Steinberg, Jessica. “Tom Nesher’s ‘Come Closer’ wins Ophir, becomes Israel’s choice for Oscar nomination”. Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/tom-neshers-come-closer-wins-ophir-becomes-israels-choice-for-oscar-nomination/.
“TRIBECA FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2024 COMPETITION WINNERS”. Tribeca Film Festival. https://www.tribecafilm.com/press-center/festival/press-releases/tribeca-festival-announces-2024-competition-winners
Goodfellow, Melanie. “Oscars: Tom Nesher’s ‘Come Closer’ To Represent Israel In International Feature Film Race”. https://deadline.com/2024/09/oscars-2025-tom-nesher-come-closer-israel-1236091480/
תום נשר. Wikipedia. https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%9D_%D7%A0%D7%A9%D7%A8
Goodfellow, Melanie. “Oscars: Tom Nesher’s ‘Come Closer’ To Represent Israel In International Feature Film Race”. https://deadline.com/2024/09/oscars-2025-tom-nesher-come-closer-israel-1236091480/
Steinberg, Jessica. “Tom Nesher’s ‘Come Closer’ wins Ophir, becomes Israel’s choice for Oscar nomination”. Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/tom-neshers-come-closer-wins-ophir-becomes-israels-choice-for-oscar-nomination/.