A Palestinian man and his son set out to deliver more than 300 wedding invitations by hand to friends and relatives.
On this simple premise, Palestinian writer-director Annemarie Jacir has constructed a rueful and, at times, savage comedy about the daily dilemmas of Arabs living in Israel.
In her community, it’s the custom for men in the family to take care of this pre-wedding ritual. And one day, Jacir – whose last two features were Oscar finalists – went along for the ride with her future brother-in-law and his father. The result was this film.
Abu Shadi and his son, Shadi – played by Mohammed and Saleh Bakri, father and son in real life – live in Nazareth, which has a special place in the Israeli state.
Because of a large concentration of Arab Christians, the city’s Palestinians were allowed to stay on after the Israeli takeover in 1948. Nonetheless, the city has a Muslim majority and its status as Israel’s unofficial Arab capital means the Palestinian nationalist spirit is strong.
Read the review by Sandra Hall in The Sydney Morning Herald.
[This film has been screened at the Palestinian Film Festival which is current.]