UKJF on Demand: Leona

Winner – Best Debut Feature Award, UK Jewish Film Festival 2019

Ariela (Naian González Norvind, Best Actress winner at the Morelia International Film Festival), a twentysomething Jewish mural painter in Mexico City falls for charming, non-Jewish Ivan. Struggling with her family’s disapproval of the relationship, Ariela is torn between the man she loves and the community she can’t leave behind. As she tries to please her parents, Ariela gradually realises it is her own wishes she needs to accept, and respect. Leona is a tender and moving debut feature about self-discovery and the courage to follow your heart.

Winner – Best Feature, Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival 2019

Winner – Best Actress, Morelia International Film Festival 2018

“As Leona unfolds on the screen, it has the very real appearance of a documentary film.” – The Jerusalem Post