lives. A man spent almost 20 years covering this mountain with colors and things built from wood; it’s all a sanctuary to love and Jesus. It’s beautiful; cars and other things all covered with his aesthetic. So I wanted to see that. But in general I would say that I’ve always been fascinated with people who live on the outskirts of society. And people who live in places that let your mind wander.

The desert’s good for that.
Yes, I was always fascinated with that in Israel too, and had a place I’d go to in Israel that is not too dissimilar to this place. That feeling of feeling very lost, but at the same time very found, very in your element.

I know you tried to get outside financing, but wound up doing it yourself.
Yeah, me and my husband [screenwriter/director Boaz Yakin]. He produced it and I went there by myself.

Do you think a bigger budget would have made it less intimate?
I probably wouldn’t have shot it myself, because I originally wanted to have a DP; this guy I’ve worked with shot a few scenes in the film, but he couldn’t stay because we didn’t have money so I ended up filming the rest. Yeah, maybe the way it was done with no money made it very intimate; being there alone gave it a lot of the mood that it has. I’m happy I was there by myself. It was definitely the best summer of my life.