After ‘Unorthodox,’ Shira Haas is headed to the Oscars

Shira Haas. Image by Getty

By Irene Katz Connelly November 13, 2020

Over the summer, “Unorthodox” star Shira Haas went viral for her jubilant reaction to the miniseries’ multiple Emmy nominations.

Now the actress, who snagged a nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Limited Series, is headed to the Oscars.

On Friday, “Asia,” a mother-daughter drama starring Haas and fellow Israeli actress Alena Yiv, won Best Picture at the Ophir Awards, Israel’s highest film accolade. It’s a prize that comes with an Oscar nomination: “Asia” will now become Israel’s entry in the Best International Feature category of the 2021 Academy Awards.

The film follows a distant mother (Yiv) and rebellious daughter (Haas) forced together by a sudden health crisis. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and won Haas the award for Best International Actress.

But “Asia” has some big shoes to fill at the Academy Awards. Last year’s winner in the International Feature category, Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” swept up four Oscars and was the first non-English film to win Best Picture.

Irene Katz Connelly is an editorial fellow at the Forward. You can contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @katz_conn.