Chanshi

*Chanshi*
Chanshi
	חאנשי
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Aleeza Chanowitz
Directed by	Aaron Geva; Mickey Triest
Starring	Aleeza Chanowitz;
Music by	Shuzin
Country of origin	Israel
Original languages	Hebrew; English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Producers	Hagit Asulin; Ayelet Imberman
Cinematography	Ziv Berkovich
Editors	Or Ben David; Danel Elpeleg; Adi Vishnia
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Kastina Communications
Original release
Network	HOT
Release	December 8, 2022

Chanshi (Hebrew: חאנשי) an Israeli comedy series created and starring Aleeza Chanowitz. Caroline Aaron and Henry Winkler have supporting roles. It centers on Chanshi (Chanowitz), a young American Jewish woman that decided to leave her community behind and make aliyah to Israel. It began airing on the HOT network in 2022 and received 15 Ophir Award nominations.^[1]

Plot summary

Chanshi (Chanowitz), a young ultra-orthodox Jewish woman from Brooklyn has recently gotten engaged to Mendy (Gvirtsman). However, she surprises everyone, including her family by deciding to make aliyah to Israel before the wedding. Once in Israel and without her family's presence and expectations, she embarks on a series of adventures and seeks to fulfill her fantasies by sleeping with Israeli soldiers. Her father (Winkler) orders her to return home and continue with her wedding plans.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Cast

Main

Aleeza Chanowitz as Chanshi, a Jewish American woman that makes aliyah to Israel
Marnina Schon as Noki, Chanshi's best friend
Tomer Machloof as David, Chanshi's handsome Mizrahi roommate that she develops romantic feelings towards
Lee Bader as Eliana
Danielle Jadelyn as Nomi
Michal Birnbaum as Chanaleh
Dov Gvirtsman as Mendy

Supporting

Caroline Aaron as Babshi, Chanshi's stepmother
Henry Winkler as Tatty, Chanshi's father and Babshi's husband

Guest

Roi Miller as Michael, a settler
Bar Brimer as Tom
Oshri Cohen as Oz

Release

The first season premiered on the HOT network in Israel on 8 December 2022. In North America, it premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January.^[5]

Reception

Hannah Brown of The Jerusalem Post praised the series: I admire Chanowitz for dramatizing a dynamic that is very well known to Americans in Israel but hasn't been discussed on screen much before...Chanshi plays like a comic version of Unorthodox, the miniseries about an ultra-Orthodox young woman leaving the fold, crossed with Amarcord, Federico Fellini’s semi-autobiographical, often outrageous movie about a horny adolescent, and that’s a potent combination."^[6]

The series received a total of 15 Ophir Award nominations:^[7]

Best Comedy Drama Series (Aleeza Chanowitz)
Best Actress in a Comedy Series (Aleeza Chanowitz)
Best Directing in a Comedy Series (Aaron Geva and Mickey Triest)
Best Script in a Comedy Series (Aleeza Chanowitz)
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Tomer Machloof)
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Lee Bader)
Best Cinematography (Ziv Berkovich)
Best Editing (Or Ben David, Danel Elpeleg and Adi Vishnia)
Best Art Direction (Omri Yekutieli)
Best Costume Design (Tal Kilshon)
Best Sound Design (Ran Tsrouya and Aviv Aldema)
Best Original Music (Shuzin)
Best Casting (Hila Yuval)
Best Makeup (Shelley Saar)

References

^ Complex, Valerie (21 April 2022). "35th Israel Film Festival In Los Angeles Unveils Hybrid In-Person And Online Screening Line Up". Deadline. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
^ ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Star Caroline Aaron Boards Israeli/U.S. Crossover Comedy ‘Chanshi’ Starring Henry Winkler Deadline. 7 April 2022
^ Henry Winkler, Aleeza Chanowitz Star in ‘Chanshi’ for Israel’s HOT Variety. 28 February 2022
^ ‘Chanshi’ Creator-Star Aleeza Chanowitz On Henry Winkler Agreeing To Play Her Dad On Israeli Comedy Series: “I Guess He Had Some Free Time” – Sundance Studio Deadline. 23 January 2023
^ Raunchy Israeli TV comedy ‘Chanshi’ heads to Sundance Times of Israel. 21 January 2023
^ Chanshi’ plays with American-Israeli stereotypes - review The Jerusalem Post. 10 December 2022
^ Awards IMDB. Retrieved on 3 May 2024

External links

IMDB

[1] Complex, Valerie (21 April 2022). "35th Israel Film Festival In Los Angeles Unveils Hybrid In-Person And Online Screening Line Up". Deadline. Retrieved 16 May 2024.

[2] ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Star Caroline Aaron Boards Israeli/U.S. Crossover Comedy ‘Chanshi’ Starring Henry Winkler Deadline. 7 April 2022

[3] Henry Winkler, Aleeza Chanowitz Star in ‘Chanshi’ for Israel’s HOT Variety. 28 February 2022

[4] ‘Chanshi’ Creator-Star Aleeza Chanowitz On Henry Winkler Agreeing To Play Her Dad On Israeli Comedy Series: “I Guess He Had Some Free Time” – Sundance Studio Deadline. 23 January 2023

[5] Raunchy Israeli TV comedy ‘Chanshi’ heads to Sundance Times of Israel. 21 January 2023

[6] Chanshi’ plays with American-Israeli stereotypes - review The Jerusalem Post. 10 December 2022

[7] Awards IMDB. Retrieved on 3 May 2024

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v t e Films about Orthodox and Hasidic Jews
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