Melting Away ( he, נמס בגשם, ''Names Ba-Geshem'') is a 2012 Israeli drama film written by Billy Ben-Moshe and directed by Doron Eran, starring Hen Yanni in the lead role. This is the first Israeli feature film deals with parents coping with their

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

child.

Production

The idea for the movie was conceived after the

2009 Tel Aviv gay centre shooting The Tel Aviv gay centre shooting resulted in the deaths of two people and injuries to at least fifteen others at the Tel Aviv branch of the Israeli LGBT Association, at the "Bar-Noar" ( he, בר נוער, "Youth Bar"), on Nahmani Street, on 1 Aug ...

. Doron Eran and Billy Ben-Moshe watched TV and heard that parents refused to visit their injured kids at the hospital because they were afraid that their friends and relatives would know that their son is

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

or their daughter is

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. The director Doron Eran made auditions for 120 actors until he found Hen Yanni, the actress he chooses for the lead role.

Plot

Shlomo Shapira discovers one day that his teenage son Asaf likes to wear women's clothes. With the silent consent of his wife Galia, he decides to teach his son a lesson. On a rainy night Asaf returns to his parents' home after a party but they refuse to open the door, even though he cries. Shlomo tell Galia that after Asaf discovers the hard world outside he will come back home and will forget all of this nonsense, but he was wrong. Four years later, Shlomo is dying from cancer and Galia turns to Eytan, a

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

to find her son and tell him about his father. Eytan finds Asaf in a Tel-Aviv gay night club. It turns out that Asaf transitioned and has become a beautiful singer named Anna. On the next day a woman named Anna came to the hospital where Shlomo is hospitalized, saying she is a private nurse sent from the insurance company. Anna visits her father day after day and they gradually get to know each other. She succeeds in conquering Shlomo's heart with her charming personality. At the same time, Galia visits her daughter Anna a few times and gradually accepts her.

Prizes

* Special award for breakthrough performance to Hen Yanni for her role in "Melting Away"- Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival * Audience Award at the

Boston Jewish Film Festival The Boston Jewish Film Festival (BJFF) is an annual film festival that screens the best contemporary films on Jewish themes from around the world. The festival presents features, shorts, documentaries, and conversations with visiting artists in o ...

, 2012 * Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the ImageOut: Rochester LGBT Film and Video Festival, October 2012 * Audience Award at the Shalom Europa IFF, France 2012 * Festival Award at the Au fil(m) du temps- IMAJ Israeli Film Festival, Belgium 2011 * Hen Yanni was nominated to Ophir Award for best actress Ehud Landsman (September 9, 2011
Ophir prizes: Who will be the big winners?
Calcalist

Cast

* Hen Yanni – Asaf Shapira / Anna * Ami Weinberg – Shlomo Shapira * Limor Goldstein – Galia Shapira * Oded Leopold –Itzik, Anna's uncle and Shlomo's young brother * Eyal Rozales –Eytan, the private investigator * Yonatan Barak – Gingi, the private investigator assistant * Shay Kadimi – Shimi, Anna's childhood friend, having difficulties

Coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

of the closet in front of his mother.; Moty's boyfriend * Hannan Suissa – Moty, Anna's childhood friend, Shimi's boyfriend *

Shosha Goren Shosha Goren ( he, שושה גורן; born 1943 in Baghdad, Iraq) is an Israeli actress and comedian of Iraqi Jewish descent. She immigrated to Israel in 1951. While on a visit to the United States, she abandoned her position as teacher of Hebrew ...

– Sarah, Shimi's mother, she function as a mother to the three boys * Arnon Zadok – Shlomo Shapira business partner

References

External links