Foreign Letters (2012)

A bittersweet comingofage film Foreign Letters is itself a love letter to the unshakeable bond between friends Set in the preemail era of the 1980s young Ellie newly arrived to the US from Israel anxiously waits for letters from her best friend back home Suffering from homesickness language difficulties and rejection at school life brightens when she meets Thuy a Vietnamese refugee her age As the two bond and become inseparable they eventually hurt each other and Ellie must find a way to restore their trust Based on director Ela Thiers personal immigration experience Foreign Letters is a film about poverty prejudice shame and the healing power of friendship