This film is part of Rentals
Next to Her
Chelli has dedicated her life to helping her learning-disabled sister, but finds their special bond tested when she embarks on a romantic relationship.
Overview
This remarkable drama from Israeli director Asaf Korman is anchored about a trio of exceptional performances. Chelli (Liron Ben-Shlush) has dedicated her life to helping her sister, Gabby (Dana Ivgy), a 24-year-old girl with severe learning disabilities. The pair live together in a dingy apartment, existing in an unhealthily symbiotic bubble where everything from toothbrushes to baths are shared.
After a social worker insists that Gabby is enrolled in a day care centre where she forges new friendships and routines, Chelli feels abandoned and embarks on a romance with a colleague, Zohar. They fall in love and he moves in, slowly helping her to find a healthy distance from her sister. However, when it becomes apparent that Zohar and Gabby have their own special bond, Chelli's possessive streak is triggered and the extent of her co-dependence is revealed. Director Korman inspires wonderful performances from his wife Liron Ben Shlush as Chelli (who also co-wrote the film based on her real-life relationship with her sister) and Dana Ivgy, a well-known personality in Israel whose position as an able actress portraying a disabled character could have left her open to criticism. Thankfully such censure would be profoundly misplaced for this sensitive, moving and naturalistic portrayal of how family ties can both bind and unravel us.
strong sex, nudity
Related
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Period drama 2025 120 mins Director: Annemarie Jacir
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.
Solo Solo
Drama 2025 102 mins Director: Sophie Dupuis
Emerging drag queen Simon begins a passionate, yet destructive relationship with an alluring new man, as his mother re-enters his life after 15 years
Christy Christy
Drama 2025 95 mins Director: Brendan Canty
Deeply moving portrait of a young man thrown out of his foster home, trying for a new start after moving in with his estranged brother in Cork.
A Night Like This A Night Like This
Drama 2025 101 mins Director: Liam Calvert
Two seemingly mismatched men form an unexpected connection over the course of one cold London night, in this warm-hearted debut from Liam Calvert.
You Were Never Really Here You Were Never Really Here
Thriller 2017 90 mins Director: Lynne Ramsay
Lynne Ramsay journeys with Joaquin Phoenix into the mind of an ex-soldier gun-for-hire whose own demons are as brutal as the actions of his adversaries.
Wonderstruck Wonderstruck
Drama 2017 116 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Julianne Moore stars in Todd Haynes' playful adaptation of Brian Selznick’s acclaimed young adult novel, which follows two children from different eras as they set out to find people from their pasts.
The Ciambra The Ciambra
Drama 2017 118 mins Director: Jonas Carpignano
A boy's life on the mean streets of a cloistered Calabrian community is captured in eye-opening realism, in this stunning work from the director of Mediterranea.
Mandy Mandy
Horror 2018 121 mins Director: Panos Cosmatos
Nicolas Cage wreaks revenge at the fiery gates of hell in Panos Cosmatos’ follow-up to Beyond the Black Rainbow.
The Wild Pear Tree The Wild Pear Tree
Drama 2018 189 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s follow-up to his Palme d’Or-winning Winter Sleep is a persuasive portrait of a young writer at odds with his hometown and family.
BlacKkKlansman BlacKkKlansman
Drama 2018 135 mins Director: Spike Lee
Spike Lee's stunning crime drama tells the stranger-than-fiction true story of an African-American police officer who infiltrated the KKK in the 1970s.
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Period drama 2025 120 mins Director: Annemarie Jacir
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Ghost Trail Ghost Trail
Thriller 2024 106 mins Director: Jonathan Millet
Tense, morally complex political thriller about a man hunting down fugitive war criminals from the Assad regime in Syria, inspired by true events.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?
Documentary 2005 45 mins Director: Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly’s second collaboration with pop band Saint Etienne traces the hidden history of East London’s Lower Lea Valley before its Olympic makeover.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.
Finisterre Finisterre
Documentary 2003 59 mins Director: Kieran Evans and Paul Kelly
A journey from London’s suburbs to its heart, charting the influence of the city on indie pop band Saint Etienne.