Part of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s mission is to foster greater understanding through world cinema. This year 72 Foreign Language films were submitted for Golden Globes consideration. Here is an overview of one of them.

The title Baba Joon perfectly explains the circumstances this Israeli film is based upon: The expression means "my dear papa", when a child says that to his or her father; or, "beloved by Papa" when a father says that to his son or daughter.

The film’s three generations of Israelis, grandfather, father and son, who address each other this way do not, however, utter this term of affection in Hebrew. “Baba Joon” is Farsi. The grandfather (Rafael Eliasi), his son Yitzhak (Navid Neghaban who played the villainous Abu Nazir in the Homeland series) and grandson Moti (Asher Avrahami ) are fictional characters. But the Israeli village that first-time feature director Yuval Delshad used as location, is indeed part of a sizable community of Iranian Jews. (According to the Los Angeles Times, “the Israeli community of Iranian Jews numbers about 170,000 – including the first generation of Israeli-born – and is deeply proud of its roots”.)

The film chronicles a hardworking family who depends on raising and selling turkeys. With his deep sense of purpose Yitzhak pushes himself to physical exhaustion by maintaining and expanding the farm his father built when the family moved from Iran to Israel. He wants to leave a solid livelihood to his only son, 13-year-old Moti. But the boy refuses to learn his father’s trade, he prefers to build mechanical things with his hands and he is very skilled at it. He even constructs his own vehicle, which his father later destroys, full of rage about his son’s stubborn disobedience.

The film, whose budget was reportedly under $1 million, does not show us where the family came from or how it fits into the cultural or political landscape of Israel. Actually, information of that matter is not necessary. Through the film’s depiction of the heartfelt emotions of these down-to-earth folks, we instinctively come to understand the characters’ inner lives and the root causes of intergenerational tension. Baba Joon, which was voted ‘Best Israeli Film’ of 2015 tells a truly universal story.

Elmar Biebl