Director: Tomer Heymann
Israel, 2006, 80', HDD, color
Hebrew, English with Turkish subtitles

Paper Dolls is a documentary film which explores changing patterns of global immigration and expanding notions of family through the prism of a community of Filipino trans sex workers who live illegally in Israel. Cast out by their families because of their sexual orientations, these people work 6 days a week as live-in, 24 hours a day care givers for elderly orthodox Jewish men, in order to earn money to send to their families in the Philippines that had rejected them. On their one free night per week, they pursue their own personal dreams as drag performers in the group they call The Paper Dolls in the relative freedom of cosmopolitan Tel Aviv. Despite having to deal with often harsh working conditions, threats by street criminals, fear of terrorist bombings and the constant peril of deportation, The Paper Dolls demonstrate a rare generosity of spirit, humanity and lust for life.

It Kinda Scares Me

It Kinda Scares Me

Paper Dolls

Paper Dolls

I Shot My Love

I Shot My Love

The Queen Has No Crown

The Queen Has No Crown

Mr. Gaga

Mr. Gaga

Who's Gonna Love Me Now?

Who's Gonna Love Me Now?

Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel

Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel

In 1998 Ben Jakober and Yannick Vu collaborated on an obvious remake of Marcel Duchamp’s Roue de Bicyclette, his first “readymade” object. Duchamp combined a bicycle wheel, a fork and a stool to create a machine which served no purpose, subverting accepted norms of art. 

Turquerie

Turquerie

Having penetrated the Balkans in the fourteenth century, conquered Constantinople in the fifteenth, and reached the gates of Vienna in the sixteenth, the Ottoman Empire long struck fear into European hearts. 

“New Year” as a Turning Point: An Alternative New Year's Watchlist by Pera Film

“New Year” as a Turning Point: An Alternative New Year's Watchlist by Pera Film

The New Year is more than just a date change on the calendar. It often marks a turning point where the weight of past experiences is felt or the uncertainty of the future is faced. This season, Pera Film highlights films that delve into themes of hope, regret, nostalgia, and new beginnings.