VALERIA IS GETTING MARRIED
by Michal Vinik
Israel/Ukraine, 2022, 76'
Against expectations, two sisters must each make a decision for themselves
Valeria, a young Ukrainian woman, arrives in Israel to meet her future husband, for an arranged marriage brokered online. She joins Christina, who has been living in Israel for some time and met her own husband through a similar arrangement. Christina is happy with her new life and wants the same for her sister, but over the course of the day doubts begin to appear.
Awards
Special Jury Award (International Feature Film Competition) - Antalya Golden Orange FF 2022
Best Israeli Feature Award; Best Screenplay - Haifa IFF 2022
The Silver Alexander Meet the Neighbors Award - Thessaloniki IFF 2022
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award - San Francisco Jewish FF 2023
Best Film and Best Direction (International Competition) - Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine - SANFIC 2023
Best Ukrainian Feature Film award - Odesa IFF 2023
Festivals
World Premiere: Venice FF 2022 - Orizonti Extra
Toronto IFF 2022
Zurich IFF 2022
Antalya Golden Orange FF 2022
Haifa IFF 2022
Thessaloniki IFF 2022
Leiden IFF 2022
Tallinn Black Nights FF 2022
Mannheim-Heidelberg IFF 2022
Santa Barbara IFF 2023
Miami FF 2023
Wesleyan University Israeli FF 2023
Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media 2023
Vilnius IFF 2023
Boston Jewish FF 2023
Cleveland IFF 2023
Créteil International Women's FF 2023
Istanbul IFF 2023
Wisconsin FF 2023
JxJ DC Jewish Film and Music Festival 2023
Seattle IFF 2023
Golden Apricot Yerevan IFF 2023
Yesh! Neues aus der jüdischen Filmwelt 2023
Toronto Jewish FF 2023
Guadalajara IFF 2023
Shanghai IFF 2023
Festival du Cinéma Israélien de Paris 2023
Shalom Europa 2023
Ceau, Cinema Film Festival 2023
New Horizons FF 2023
San Francisco Jewish FF 2023
SANFIC 2023
Festival du cinéma israélien de Carpentras 2023
Cast & Crew
Lena Fraifeld (Christina); Dasha Tvoronovich (Valeria); Yaakov Zada Daniel (Michael); Avraham Shalom Levi (Eytan)
Production company: Lama Films
Producer: Ayelet Kait, Amir Harel
Coproducers: Vladimir Yatsenko, Anna Yatsenko - ForeFilms
Michal Vinik
Michal Vinik's debut film BARASH (2015) premiered at San Sebastian FF and became both a festivals and sales hit; the film travelled to over 90 festivals worldwide, received 10 awards internationally, and sold in 26 territories. Her short films BAIT (2009) and SRAK (2011) premiered at Locarno and Sundance, winning prizes in Israel and around the world.
VALERIA IS GETTING MARRIED (2022), Michal's second feature film, premiered in Venice FF and Toronto FF and is currently being screened at festivals internationally. Michal is currently working on her third feature film YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING, and preparing to shoot the second season of THE MISSING FILE for television, adapted from Dror Mishani's novels.
She has written for several television series and co-created her own (WHO GAVE YOU A LICENSE, together with Daniella Doron and Talya Lavie
