Come Closer (film)

Come Closer
Come Closer
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tom Nesher
Written by	Tom Nesher
Produced by	Haim Mecklberg; Estee Yacov-Mecklberg; Tomer Mecklberg; Moshe Edery; Leon Edery; Domenico Procacci; Laura Paolucci; Oren Rogovin; Omer Rogovin; Hezi Bezalel; Carnie Bezalel; Omri Bezalel; Anthony Bregman; Yigal Mograbi
Starring	Lia Elalouf; Darya Rosenn
Cinematography	Shai Peleg
Edited by	Shauly Melamed
Music by	Ginevra Nervi
Production; companies	2-Team Productions; Rogovin Brothers
Distributed by	United King Films
Release dates	June 6, 2024 (Tribeca); September 19, 2024 (Israel);
Running time	107 minutes
Countries	Israel; Italy
Language	Hebrew

Come Closer (Hebrew: קרוב אלי) is a 2024 Israeli-Italian drama film written and directed by Tom Nesher in her directorial debut.^[1] Starring Lia Elalouf and Darya Rosenn accompanied by Ido Tako, Yaakov Zada-Daniel and Netta Garti.^[2] It is about a troubled young woman who becomes obsessed with her deceased brother's girlfriend after his sudden death.^[3] After winning the Ophir Award for Best Picture, it was officially selected as the Israeli entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.^[4]^[5]

Making of the Film

Nesher wrote the screenplay for the film, initially titled "Finally", which was based on her personal story. She was the youngest creator to receive government funding for film production. In September 2018, Tom's brother Ari was killed in a car accident shortly after his 17th birthday. Since their father, film director Avi Nesher, is a well-known public figure, the tragedy received particular media attention, and the public showed support for the family.

Synopsis

The sudden death of Eden's beloved younger brother leads her to try to fill the void that has opened up in her life. Soon, she discovers that her brother had a secret girlfriend and with her she embarks on an emotional, complex and dangerous journey.^[6]

Cast

Lia Elalouf as Eden
Darya Rosenn as Maya
Ido Tako as Nati
Yaakov Zada-Daniel as Shlomo
Netta Garti as Mother
Shlomi Shaban
Ofek Pesach
Yael Shoshana Cohen
Lia Schon
Shay Litman
Shifra Cornfeld
Karin Tepper
Yotam Jonathan Rabino
Inbar Livne
Romi Halkin
Hani Sirkis

Release

It had its world premiere on June 6, 2024, at the 23rd Tribeca Festival,^[7] then screened on July 22, 2024, at the 41st Jerusalem Film Festival.^[8] It was released commercially on September 19, 2024, in Israeli theaters.^[9]

Reception

The film was nominated in 12 categories at the 2024 Ophir Awards, and won in the categories of Best Film, Best Leading Actress, Best Director, and Best Editing.

In July 2024, the film won the Best First Film Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival.

The film won an award at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in the Viewpoints category, which is dedicated to films that present "bold and exceptional voices" in independent cinema.

In November 2024, Variety named director Tom Nesher as one of their "10 Directors to Watch for 2025."^[10]

Accolades

Year	Award / Festival	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2024	23rd Tribeca Festival	Viewpoints Award	Come Closer	Won	^[11]
	41st Jerusalem Film Festival	Haggiag Award - Best Israeli Feature Film		Nominated	^[12]^[13]
		Best Israeli First Feature		Won
		Best Actress	Lia Elalouf	Won
		Best Original Score	Ginevra Nervi	Won
	35th Ophir Awards	Best Picture	Come Closer	Won	^[14]^[15]
		Best Director	Tom Nesher	Won
		Best Actress	Lia Elalouf	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Darya Rosenn	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Tom Nesher	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Shai Peleg	Nominated
		Best Editing	Shauly Melamed	Won
		Best Art Direction	Almog Sela, Itamar Thorn & Vera Greenblatt	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Gabrielle Orion Hasson & Tamar Eyal	Nominated
		Best Makeup	Keren Assaf	Nominated
		Best Casting	Chamutal Zerem & Esther Kling	Nominated
		Best Sound	Ronen Nagel & Ori Tchechik	Nominated

References

^ "הסרט של תום נשר על המוות הטרגי של אחיה ארי: הצצה ראשונה". Ynet (in Hebrew). 2024-07-30. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ "Película del director israelí Tom Nesher se mostrará en el Festival de Tribeca". The Jerusalem Post. 2024-05-15. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ "Israeli creativity in the limelight with this year's Jerusalem Film Festival lineup". The Jerusalem Post. 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ טוביאס, בנימין; בירנברג, יואב (September 16, 2024). ""קרוב אליי", סרט הבכורה של תום נשר, ייצג את ישראל באוסקר". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
^ Goodfellow, Melanie (2024-09-17). "Oscars: Tom Nesher's 'Come Closer' To Represent Israel In International Feature Film Race". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
^ Dekel, Ayelet (2024-06-24). "Jerusalem Film Festival 2024: Israeli Films". MidnightEast. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ "Come Closer". Tribeca Festival. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ "Come Closer". Jerusalem Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ "בקרוב מאוד כולכם תחוו את הפלא הזה על המסך הגדול 🫶 "קרוב אלי" סרטה של תום נשר שסחף את הביקורות ואת מירב המועמדויות לפרסי האקדמיה, ייצא לאקרנים ב-19.9 בכל בתי הקולנוע! #קרובאלי". Instagram. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ Gilchrist, Todd (2024-11-19). "'The Substance,' 'The Piano Lesson,' 'Babygirl' Filmmakers Selected for Variety's 2025 Directors to Watch". Variety. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
^ "Israeli director Tom Nesher's film wins top prize at Tribeca Festival". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ Dalton, Ben. "Jerusalem Film Festival winners include 'The Story Of Souleymane', 'Santosh'". Screen International. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ "Bedouin director wins top prize at Jerusalem Film Festival". The Jerusalem Post. 2024-07-25. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
^ Brink, Yaron Ten (2024-08-14). "נשים בחזית: 5 במאיות מועמדות לפרס הגדול של טקס פרסי אופיר". נשים בחזית: 5 במאיות מועמדות לפרס הגדול של טקס פרסי אופיר | טיים אאוט (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-09-04.
^ "הסרט הטוב ביותר: "קרוב אלי" – רשימת הזוכים בפרס אופיר 2024 - סינמסקופסינמסקופ". סינמסקופ - בלוג הקולנוע של יאיר רוה. ביקורות סרטים, חדשות וטבלת המבקרים. 2024-09-16. Retrieved 2024-09-17.

External links

Come Closer at IMDb
Official Page

[1] "הסרט של תום נשר על המוות הטרגי של אחיה ארי: הצצה ראשונה". Ynet (in Hebrew). 2024-07-30. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[2] "Película del director israelí Tom Nesher se mostrará en el Festival de Tribeca". The Jerusalem Post. 2024-05-15. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[3] "Israeli creativity in the limelight with this year's Jerusalem Film Festival lineup". The Jerusalem Post. 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[4] טוביאס, בנימין; בירנברג, יואב (September 16, 2024). ""קרוב אליי", סרט הבכורה של תום נשר, ייצג את ישראל באוסקר". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved September 16, 2024.

[5] Goodfellow, Melanie (2024-09-17). "Oscars: Tom Nesher's 'Come Closer' To Represent Israel In International Feature Film Race". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-09-18.

[6] Dekel, Ayelet (2024-06-24). "Jerusalem Film Festival 2024: Israeli Films". MidnightEast. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[7] "Come Closer". Tribeca Festival. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[8] "Come Closer". Jerusalem Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[9] "בקרוב מאוד כולכם תחוו את הפלא הזה על המסך הגדול 🫶 "קרוב אלי" סרטה של תום נשר שסחף את הביקורות ואת מירב המועמדויות לפרסי האקדמיה, ייצא לאקרנים ב-19.9 בכל בתי הקולנוע! #קרובאלי". Instagram. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[10] Gilchrist, Todd (2024-11-19). "'The Substance,' 'The Piano Lesson,' 'Babygirl' Filmmakers Selected for Variety's 2025 Directors to Watch". Variety. Retrieved 2024-11-20.

[11] "Israeli director Tom Nesher's film wins top prize at Tribeca Festival". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[12] Dalton, Ben. "Jerusalem Film Festival winners include 'The Story Of Souleymane', 'Santosh'". Screen International. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[13] "Bedouin director wins top prize at Jerusalem Film Festival". The Jerusalem Post. 2024-07-25. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

[14] Brink, Yaron Ten (2024-08-14). "נשים בחזית: 5 במאיות מועמדות לפרס הגדול של טקס פרסי אופיר". נשים בחזית: 5 במאיות מועמדות לפרס הגדול של טקס פרסי אופיר | טיים אאוט (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-09-04.

[15] "הסרט הטוב ביותר: "קרוב אלי" – רשימת הזוכים בפרס אופיר 2024 - סינמסקופסינמסקופ". סינמסקופ - בלוג הקולנוע של יאיר רוה. ביקורות סרטים, חדשות וטבלת המבקרים. 2024-09-16. Retrieved 2024-09-17.

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v t e Israeli submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
1964–1975	Sallah (1964) The Glass Cage (1965) The Flying Matchmaker (1966) Every Bastard a King (1968) Siege (1969) The Policeman (1971) I Love You Rosa (1972) The House on Chelouche Street (1973) My Michael (1975)
1977–2000	Operation Thunderbolt (1977) Lemon Popsicle (1978) Moments (1979) The Thin Line (1980) A Thousand Little Kisses (1981) Hamsin (1982) A Married Couple (1983) Beyond the Walls (1984) When Night Falls (1985) Avanti Popolo (1986) I Don't Give a Damn (1987) The Summer of Aviya (1988) One of Us (1989) The Lookout (1990) Beyond the Sea (1991) Life According to Agfa (1992) Revenge of Itzik Finkelstein (1993) Sh'Chur (1994) Lovesick on Nana Street (1995) Saint Clara (1996) Pick a Card (1997) Circus Palestine (1998) Yana's Friends (1999) Time of Favor (2000)
2001–present	Late Marriage (2001) Broken Wings (2002) Nina's Tragedies (2003) Campfire (2004) What a Wonderful Place (2005) Sweet Mud (2006) Beaufort (2007) Waltz with Bashir (2008) Ajami (2009) The Human Resources Manager (2010) Footnote (2011) Fill the Void (2012) Bethlehem (2013) Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (2014) Baba Joon (2015) Sand Storm (2016) Foxtrot (2017) The Cakemaker (2018) Incitement (2019) Asia (2020) Let It Be Morning (2021) Cinema Sabaya (2022) Seven Blessings (2023) Come Closer (2024)