Cuz You're Ugly

Avigail has promise. At least that’s what her commanding officer says, and Avigail is intent on believing him. Finally! Someone sees her potential, her capabilities, her leadership! Leaving the base for the weekend, puffed up from the promise of officer training in her future, Avigail unwittingly embarks on a sundrenched weekend full of surprises at home. With a physically present but emotionally checked-out mom, and a dad who left the family years ago, Avigail and her teenage sister Naomi are inseparable allies. With her sister, Avigail can let down her guard, but Naomi also has secrets that will compel Avigail to step into adulthood in a whole new way. Sharon Angelhart’s confident debut feature consistently roots for its resilient main character, stretched between a fragmented family and her hope for her own future. Riki Reif Sinai’s award-winning performance delicately balances Avigail’s bluster and vulnerability. Ultimately, Cuz You’re Ugly incisively explores how nature, nurture, and societal expectations may shape us, but we each have the power to claim our own path. —Laura Henneman

Bay Area Premiere

Sharon Angelhart is a Tel Aviv–based film director and screenwriter. Her short films have screened at international festivals including Cannes, Sarajevo, and Jerusalem. Her debut feature Cuz You’re Ugly (2026), an Israeli-Canadian co-production, won Best Acting at the Jerusalem Film Festival, received seven Ophir Award nominations (winning Best Supporting Actress and Best Casting), and was awarded Best Israeli Debut Feature at the Cinema South Festival. She is currently developing her second feature, I Hate You From the Bottom of My Heart, which participated in the 2025 AIR Berlin residency.