Essential Cinema: Films of the Middle East and Beyond

in
Date/Time: 
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Host: 
AFS Essential Cinema

From the AFS Web site:

Ajami

Cinematography by Boaz Yehonatan Yaacov
Edited by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani
Israel, 2009, distributed by Kino International, BetaSP, color, 120 min.
Cast: Shahir Kabaha, Scandar Copti, Ibrahim Frege, Eran Naim, Fouad Habash
Arabic & Hebrew with English subtitles

Ajami is a neighborhood in Jaffa, Israel, one in which Jews, Muslims, and Christians live and work. It becomes a microcosm of the Arab/Israeli conflict in which tensions, anger, and fear run at such a fever pitch that emotions always trump rationality and people suffer unnecessarily. Various “chapters” interweave the stories of young men and boys involved in seeing friends and relatives killed, making blood money payments, naively dealing drugs, working illegally, crossing religious barriers for love, and trying to maintain honor while surviving in a cauldron. AJAMI provides a sobering look at conflicts within a far more complex Israel than generally shown. Winner of “Best Feature Film” at Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Nov 2009) and Israel’s submission for Oscar consideration (2010).