Chanshi


Chanshi is an Israeli comedy series created and starring Aleeza Chanowitz. Caroline Aaron and Henry Winkler have supporting roles. It centers on Chanshi, a young American Jewish woman that decided to leave her community behind and make aliyah to Israel. It began airing on the HOT network in 2022 and received 15 Ophir Award nominations.

Plot summary

Chanshi, a young ultra-orthodox Jewish woman from Brooklyn has recently gotten engaged to Mendy. However, she surprises everyone, including her family by deciding to make aliyah to Israel before the wedding. Once in Israel and without her family's presence and expectations, she embarks on a series of adventures and seeks to fulfill her fantasies by sleeping with Israeli soldiers. Her father orders her to return home and continue with her wedding plans.

Cast

Main

Supporting

Guest

Release

The first season premiered on the HOT network in Israel on 8 December 2022. In North America, it premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January.

Reception

Hannah Brown of The Jerusalem Post praised the series: I admire Chanowitz for dramatizing a dynamic that is very well known to Americans in Israel but hasn't been discussed on screen much before...Chanshi plays like a comic version of Unorthodox, the miniseries about an ultra-Orthodox young woman leaving the fold, crossed with Amarcord, Federico Fellini’s semi-autobiographical, often outrageous movie about a horny adolescent, and that’s a potent combination."
The series received a total of 15 Ophir Award nominations: