The Other Widow

The Other Widow is a 2022 Israeli-French drama film directed by Maayan Rypp and written by Rypp & Anat Gafni. Starring Dana Ivgy and Ania Bukstein. It is about a woman whose lover dies and who seeks to reclaim her right to mourn even though her lover's family and wife are still there.

Synopsis

Ella is a theater dressmaker and lover of one of the actors in her play, who dies unexpectedly. In the context of the preparations for the premiere and the increasing pressure from the production, Ella insists on attending Shiva and exposes herself to a world that has been blocked from her until now. Things get complicated when she meets her lover's brother, mother and wife, and gets too close to them.

Cast

Dana Ivgy as Ella
Ania Bukstein as Natasha
Itamar Rotschild as Dan / Assaf
Yaniv Biton as Yigal
Lee Gilat as Kiran
Naama Preis as Maya
Irit Gidron as Yehudit
Svetlana Demidov as Marina
Mouna Hawa as Yasmin
Howard Rypp as Reuben
Anat Atzmon as Amalia
Batel Israel as Catering Waitress
Yona Rozenkier as Yinon
Rom Sheratzky as Yotam
Ben Drori as Delivery Guy

Release

The Other Widow had its world premiere on November 21, 2022, at the 26th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, then screened on February 15, 2023, at the 38th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, on March 22 of the same year at the 27th Sofia International Film Festival and on July 15 of the same year at the Jerusalem Film Festival.

Reception

Critical reception

Wendy Ide from Screen Daily wrote: "This impressive debut from Ma’ayan Rypp is an elegant and empathetic portrait of that most vilified of female characters, The Other Widow, combining satisfyingly textured character details with a suitably theatrical flourish to arresting effect." Jason Delgado from Film Threat wrote: "The Other Widow is not conventional, but that is something I enjoy about it. The master craftsmanship of the cast and crew transports us to a different point of view that you can’t take your eyes off of."