Strangers

Erez Tadmor and Lubna Azabal in person at the Castro.

Love and desire don’t always line up neatly with one’s politics or religion. But one thing is for sure: when you want someone so badly it aches, you can kiss goodbye all that early training about finding a suitable mate.

When handsome Eyal (Liron Levo) and knockout Rana (Lubna Azabal) are seated across from each other on the subway in Berlin, their backpacks are mixed up, leading to a chance meeting. He’s Israeli and she’s Palestinian, but they both came to Berlin for the World Cup and are immediately swept up in the dual frenzies of soccer mania and desire. Something about being out of the Middle East allows them to transcend the deep gap between Israelis and Palestinians.

After the tealights have burned out in their rented Berlin love nest, they realize that the fact that she is from Ramallah and he is from the north of Israel means they have different views of the world, especially in 2006 during the Israel-Lebanon war. Tensions arise—can they work them out? What will their parents say? Why is she fleeing to Paris? Erez Tadmor and Guy Nattiv, two extremely talented Israeli directors, have created a crisply written, top-notch love story that crosses international borders and explores the boundaries of nationality, culture and the heart.

Tadmor and Nattiv adopted a risky and fascinating shooting style, sketching out scenes but asking their talented cast essentially to improvise the script on location. The edge and energy generated are palpable. The premise of the film is expanded from the directors’ short film Strangers (SFJFF 2004), which won best short at the Sundance Film Festival. Their next short, Offside (2006), also won numerous awards. This is their first feature.

—Nancy K. Fishman

Opening Night is sponsored by a generous grant from Wells Fargo.

Additional support provided by the Consulate General of Israel, Pacific Northwest Region.

Co-presented by Project Welcome, Interfaith Connection of the JCCSF and Building Jewish Bridges &ndash JFED-Greater East Bay