Haifa-born Israeli filmmaker Michal Vinik impressed greatly with her debut feature Blush in 2015.
The film was the first lesbian-themed film to be widely distributed in Israeli cinemas. The writer-director and film production lecturer is now back with another hard-hitting drama, which provides a sober look at the plight of east European mail-order brides.
Valeria is Getting Married — soon to be screened in London as part of this year’s UK Jewish Film Festival programme — follows Ukrainian sisters Christina (Lena Fraifeld) and Valeria (Dasha Tvoronovich) who leave their country for arranged marriages in Israel in the hope of a new start.
But while Christina has accepted her fate as the wife of hot-headed marriage broker Michael — Fauda’s Yaakov Zada-Daniel giving a typically brilliant performance — Valeria is deeply disappointed with her soon-to-be-husband Eitan (Avraham Shalom Levi).
On top of being a complete charisma-vacuum, sappy Eitan is just not what Valeria had in mind as a life partner.
While the whole scenario would usually make for a fun and frivolous rom-com where Valeria would eventually learn to love and accept her husband-to-be, Vinik’s film takes a turn for the unexpected when, the young woman locks herself in her sister’s bathroom and refuses to go ahead with the wedding.
Speaking to the JC from her home in Israel — the interview took place before the October 7 atrocities — Vinik tells me that she has researched the subject thoroughly for many years and was very keen to present an authentic example of this ever-growing global trend.
Lena Fraifeld and Dasha Tvoronovich in Valerie is getting Married Credit Lama Films
Lena Fraifeld and Dasha Tvoronovich in Valerie is Getting Married (Photo: Lama Films)
“I was fascinated by the kind of men that go into these kinds of marriages, because obviously, they have a blind spot. But still, it is very interesting to see how they explain it to themselves.
“And I saw that the whole story has a lot of angles, and is not so black and white, and I really hope it comes through in the story, that it is a complex situation.”
In the film Christina is depicted as the more accommodating of the two sisters. Often micro-managed and berated by an angry and controlling husband, she does her best to stay on his good side in order to get what she wants.
As well as keeping the peace, she is also the one who eventually makes the most surprising decision for her sister. This puts her in a precarious position and also feels completely out of character.
“For me she is the main protagonist,” Vinik tells me. “She is the one who goes through real change [….] a professor in gender studies told me that Christina’s character makes deals with the patriarchy like a lot of women who aren’t Ukrainian brides.”
What is the most surprising about Vinik’s film is just how non- judgmental it often is. Men and women are painted as victims of their own circumstances.
“I tried to stay as human as I can, because there is a grey area. If you compare these kinds of marriages to a lot of kinds of matchmaking, for example, religious matchmaking in Israel, and other places, it’s very clear to me why this kind of marriage is legal compared to prostitution, for example, which is illegal.”
Valeria Is Getting Married had its premiere last year at the Venice Film Festival where it was nominated for the prestigious Audience Award. The film has won a number of awards at other international film festivals.
On the main differences between showing her films at home as opposed to showing them internationally, Vinik is quick to tell me “Israelis will always understand my films better because they understand every nuance, but Valeria was already screened around the globe and it seems that people are touched by this story.”
As for London audiences, she says: “I screened my previous film in London, and am looking forward to see how Valeria will meet her British friends.”
Valeria is Getting Married is showing at JW3 on 15 November at 8.45pm.
ukjewishfilm.org/festival/uk-jewish-film-festival-
2023
