A social drama told through the eyes of Andrey, a young immigrant living with his little sister in the slums of the city of Ashdod and struggling to assimilate into Israeli society, who forms a hip-hop band with his best friends. Surviving day to day, they devote their time to rehearsing for an audition to an upcoming international music festival. They believe that winning the musical competition will allow them to make their voices heard, to influence their harsh reality. But their dream of taking part in a music competition is all but shattered when Andrey suffers a crisis at home. Andrey’s father has been in the hospital for months, leaving Andrey responsible for his little sister and for making payments on their mortgage. He can’t juggle caring for his sister, rehearsing, and working all at once. "Russians (and their accents) are often made fun of in Israeli popular culture, and it’s been a long time since there was a dramatic film that took a close and sympathetic look at them. ... I can’t think of a feature film that has captured the day-to-day grind of Russian immigrants trapped in poverty as effectively and as memorably as HERE AND NOW." (Hannah Brown in 'The Jerusalem Post')
Andrei, a Russian speaking immigrant living in Ashdod, is balancing work, bills, taking care of his kid sister Chris, and rehearsing for a concert.
A social drama told through the eyes of Andrey, a young immigrant living with his little sister in the slums of the city of Ashdod and struggling to assimilate into Israeli society, who forms a hip-hop band with his best friends.
Surviving day to day, they devote their time to rehearsing for an audition to an upcoming international music festival. They believe that winning the musical competition will allow them to make their voices heard, to influence their harsh reality.
But their dream of taking part in a music competition is all but shattered when Andrey suffers a crisis at home. Andrey’s father has been in the hospital for months, leaving Andrey responsible for his little sister and for making payments on their mortgage. He can’t juggle caring for his sister, rehearsing, and working all at once.
"Russians (and their accents) are often made fun of in Israeli popular culture, and it’s been a long time since there was a dramatic film that took a close and sympathetic look at them. ... I can’t think of a feature film that has captured the day-to-day grind of Russian immigrants trapped in poverty as effectively and as memorably as HERE AND NOW." (Hannah Brown in 'The Jerusalem Post')