Bassem Loulou

Man Without a Cell Phone

The film is set in the near future, and it looks back on how peace was made in 2013 between Israel and Palestine. It is the story of two businessmen - one Palestinian and one Israeli - who struggle to set up a solar energy company. Both come from societies where there is strong opposition to cooperating with the other, and the film tells how they overcome hostility from within their own families and from the people around them. In the end, they mount a Facebook campaign that brings popular support both to their joint venture and to the peace process. The film was produced by Amir Harel, an Academy Award-nominated Israeli producer, and directed by Sameh Zoabi, a leading Palestinian film-maker.

Santa Claus tries to outrun a gang of knife-wielding youth. It's one of several vignettes of Palestinian life in Israel - in a neighborhood in Nazareth and at Al-Ram checkpoint in East Jerusalem. Most of the stories are droll, some absurd, one is mythic and fanciful; few words are spoken. A man who goes through his mail methodically each morning has a heart attack. His son visits him in hospital. The son regularly meets a woman at Al-Ram; they sit in a car, hands caressing. Once, she defies Israeli guards at the checkpoint; later, Ninja-like, she takes on soldiers at a target range. A red balloon floats free overhead. Neighbors toss garbage over walls. Life goes on until it doesn't.