IDFA: The Belle from Gaza - Yolande Zauberman

Trans women

Around Hatnufa Street in the south of Tel Aviv, a diffuse group of trans women offer sex at night in exchange for money. An old photo puts director Yolande Zauberman on the trail of a beautiful trans woman, who reportedly walked from Gaza to Tel Aviv. With each interview, her story changes, and sometimes the search for the mysterious title character fades into the background. The sex workers talk freely and humorously about a variety of subjects, although whispers make it clear that danger lurks in the more liberal Tel Aviv as well. In the unforgettable opening minutes, an older Arab trans woman tells about an intense affair with an Orthodox rabbi. During the recording of her previous documentary M , about a man who was sexually abused as a child within the Orthodox Jewish community, Zauberman came across the subject for this project.