Student films are fascinating to watch -- even though they
might not be the best films cinematically speaking, they offer a glimpse at the
subjects and issues facing young people today.
In a cross-national collaboration produced by the Film and TV Department
of Tel Aviv University, Coffee-Between Reality and Imagination (Artistic
Director: Yael Perlov, 2011), we are given the chance of seeing films by young
Palestinian filmmakers (2 documentaries and 2 dramas) and Israeli filmmakers (4
dramas).
The Palestinian Films
Of all of the Palestinian films, my favorite is The Clock
and the Man by Gazi Abu Baker (drama, 11 minutes), based on a story by Samira
Azzam. This is a very special tale about
a young man named Fathi who gets a job as a clerk in a government office. On the morning of his first day of work, he
discovers that an elderly man named Abu Fuad (Mohammed Bakri) wakes all the
government workers in the town so that they can get to their morning train on
time.
Wajeh by Murad Nassar (documentary, 16 minutes) is about a
coffee vendor at the Kalandia checkpoint near Ramallah. The different metal gates and pathways make
it seem like the workers are caged animals. Wajeh is witness as the checkpoint fills with
people trying to get to work early in the morning and they talk about the
terrible reality of everyday life with these checkpoints.
Sense of Morning by Maysaloun Hamoud (drama, 9 minutes),
inspired by Memory of Forgetfulness by Mahmoud Darwish (1987) is an art film
about the siege of Beirut in 1982.
A Cup of Coffee from Palestine by Kareem Karaja, Ameer
Ahmarwo, Murad Nassar (documentary, 8 mintes) is about the bitter life stories
of Palestinians living in the Al-Amari Refugee camp.
The Israeli Films
My favorite of the Israeli films in this collection is Tasnim
by Elite Zexer (drama, 11 minutes), about a 10-year-old Bedouin girl living in
a neglected village in the Negev. When
her father appears in a surprise visit, she runs to bring him coffee. But she is surprised at the
circumstances of his visit.
Audition by Eti Tsicko (drama, 14 minutes) portrays an
encounter between Haled and the female director/actress with whom he is
auditioning to work. At first awkward,
their encounter develops. The line
between fiction and life itself becomes blurred.
A Trip to Jaffa by Eitan Sarid (drama) is a story of two
illegal Palestinian construction workers who want to buy a ring for one of them
who is getting married. His family was
from Jaffa, so they set off to find the same jewelry store where his grandfather
originally bought the ring for his grandmother.
But things are different from what they imagined.
Eva is Leaving by Aya Somech (drama, 15 minutes) is about a
husband and wife who run a coffee shop.
He has become newly-religious and it is a point of contention between
them, especially when he becomes obsessed that a cup of coffee from a
non-kosher take-out pace has spilled over the vegetables in the kosher kitchen
of his coffee shop.
This set of 8 short films is available from Tel Aviv
University -- films.tau@gmail.com
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