Ajami

An Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, Ajami (2009) is the acclaimed directorial debut of the Israeli-Palestinian filmmaking duo Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti.

Winner of the Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Editing awards at this year's Israeli Film Academy ceremony (the Israeli Oscars), Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti's feature film debut had its world premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight program, where it received a special mention by the festival's Caméra d'Or jury.

Jaffa's Ajami neighborhood is a melting pot of cultures and conflicting views among Jews, Muslims and Christians. Back and forth in time, and through the eyes of various characters, we witness the tragic fragility of human existence in an area where enemies often live side-by-side.

Thirteen-year-old Nasri (Fouad Habash) and his older brother Omar (Shahir Kabaha) face constant fear when their family becomes a target of assassination, after their uncle foolishly wounds a prominent clan member. At the same time, and not too far away, the young Palestinian refugee Malek (Ibrahim Frege) works illegally in Israel to finance his mother's life-saving surgery. An affluent Palestinian man who dreams of building a life with his Jewish girlfriend, and a Jewish cop obsessed with finding his missing brother round out this unique multi-character piece.

Directors Copti and Shani spent months auditioning locals (many of whom are from Jaffa's multi-ethnic Ajami neighborhood) and then, conducting extensive rehearsals with the cast. And cinematographer Boaz Yehonatan Yacov, who also lensed Kino's My Father, My Lord (2007), beautifully captured the spaces and street dynamics of this multi-faceted area of the world.

Since its debut on the film festival circuit, Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti's debut feature film has received strong reviews for its complex and powerful narrative, as well as for its authentic portrayal of life in Jaffa, a region in the south of Tel Aviv.

As of 2009, there are more than one million Arabs who live in (and are citizens of) Israel, and Ajami's powerful narrative reveals some of the stories and dramas of the ongoing Palestian and Israeli fight towards a peaceful coexistence.