Synopsis
When the Israeli government begins deporting the children of migrant workers, Janet, a domestic worker on an expired visa, struggles to hide her half-Israeli daughter, Yael, a rebellious teenager caught up in a juvenile romance, and Joshua, a four-year old boy left in her care. Working outside of the city as a caregiver, Moises, the young boy's father, struggles between providing for his son and protecting him from the authorities. The film also explores the life of Tina, a young woman who arrives in Tel Aviv to start a new life and resides with Janet. With the constant threat looming over their precarious lives, the film examines what it means to be a family and what it means to be a stranger, within one’s home and in a foreign land.
Director Biography
Born in 1987 in Manila, Philippines, Hannah Espia started making films at 15-years old. After graduating from the University of the Philippines FilmInstitute in 2012, her thesis film, Ruweda (Wheel), won the Audience Choice Award at the 8th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. Hannah also attended the Talent Campus Tokyo and Berlinale Talent Campus in 2012 and 2013 respectively, both programs as director-editor. Her first feature, Transit, which was pitched and developed at Talent Campus Tokyo, premiered at the 9th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival in 2013 to critical acclaim and won ten awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Audience Choice.
Hannah Espia