The critically acclaimed Israeli feature film, Come Closer, opened in New York on December 5 and is slated to be shown in Los Angeles and other cities from December 12.
Come Closer, a riveting story of love and loss, won the Viewpoints Award at the Tribeca Festival in 2024 and the Ophir Award for Best Picture, which made it Israel’s official selection for the 2025 Oscars. It also won Ophir Awards for Best Director, as well as for Best Actress for Lia Elalouf and Best Editing for Shauly Melamed.
Tom Nesher, who marked her directorial debut with the film, was named one of Variety’s Directors to Watch in 2025.
The film focuses on Eden (Elalouf), a restless young woman immersed in the Tel Aviv nightlife scene, whose life changes abruptly when she loses her beloved brother (Ido Tako) in an accident. Discovering that he had a girlfriend he kept secret, Eden tracks down the girl (Darya Rosenn), and the two embark on a scarily intense relationship that emerges from their shared grief. The movie was partly inspired by the death of Nesher’s own younger brother, Ari Nesher, in 2018.
Variety called the film “a sexy, modern, and uncommonly introspective debut,” adding that Elalouf is “radiant” and “gives off early Gwyneth Paltrow vibes, crossed with the lively, mercurial spirit of a young Angelina Jolie.”
Ahead of the US release, Nesher said, “I’m really excited for Come Closer to open in New York and soon in Los Angeles and other places in the US. The film began its journey in the world at the Tribeca Film Festival, and since then, we’ve toured with it across Europe and have been incredibly grateful to see it touch the hearts of audiences in so many places. The film aspires to move between tenderness, grief, desire, and an undercurrent of humor and provocativeness. I’m grateful it’s getting the chance to meet new viewers, and I’m curious to see how American audiences respond to its mix of intimacy, playfulness, and emotional honesty.”
While once many Israeli feature films were shown in the US, this marks the first time that a dramatic film from Israel has opened theatrically there since the October 7, 20023 massacre and subsequent war.
Anthony Bregman, one of the film’s producers, who has made such indie classics as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, described Come Closer to Screen Daily by saying, “It’s in the spirit of [Pedro Almodovar’s] Y Tu Mama Tambien and is about young people discovering themselves through their confusing sexuality. It’s very powerful.”