Chelli works as a security guard and lives with her mentally challenged sister, Gabby. Chelli refuses the approach of the social welfare worker and tries to live self-sufficiently, but Gabby’s symptoms escalate and Chelli can’t stay with her all day long as this would cause difficulties in her working life. As Zohar, who likes Chelli, enters their lives things seem to get better, but the three of them living together starts a journey where no one can be happy. The film is based on the real experiences of Liron Ben-Shlush, lead actress and the director’s wife, so the acting of the two actresses playing the sisters in Next to Her is authentic and powerful. Detailed approach to intimate and personal aspects of this unusual sisterhood creates a small universe of complex emotions that are not found in any similar kind of story about families of people with disabilities. Next to Her is a feature debut of Asaf Korman, who edited Big Bad Wolves(2013) presented in BIFF last year. (Jin PARK)