My Father's Palestinian Slave

This intimate documentary portrays the unlikely friendship between an undocumented Palestinian worker and his Israeli employer, veteran peace activist Moshe Amirav. Their relationship unfolds before the camera of Moshe’s 19-year-old Swedish Israeli son, who comes to Jerusalem for a year to live with his father and study film at Hebrew University. Nathanel becomes fascinated by his father’s attachment to Morad, the young Palestinian landscaper who sneaks across the border from East Jerusalem to come to work every day. As the two young men grow closer, Nathanel begins to question some of his father’s attitudes toward Morad; Moshe, while well intentioned, is accustomed to having the upper hand. Nathanel’s growing comprehension of the political and moral conflicts in Israel parallels his increasing awareness of his own life of privilege.

From 2008 Festival: Director, Sweden Nathaniel Goldman Amirav was born in Jerusalem 1987. In 1998 he moved with his mother and sister to Sweden, but has since frequently returned to visit his father in Jerusalem. In 2006 he graduated from Riddarfjärdens Mediagymnasium (Media High School) in Stockholm. In 2007 he studied Film, Video and New Media at Bezalal Art Academy, (Israel’s foremost Art Academy) in Jerusalem. His first film, Stockholm-Jerusalem t.o.r (Stockholm-Jerusalem, round trip) is a 20 minute documentary investigating his Jewish, Israeli, and Swedish identities. It was screened at Stockholm's Jewish Film Festival in 2006 and was also as a part of a nationwide exhibition called Living in Two worlds. It was produced by the government-sponsored “Forum för Levande Historia” (“The Living History Forum”) of Stockholm and Riksutställningar, a government agency responsible for producing exhibitions within the framework of the government's cultural policy. His second film, Min Pappas Palestinska Slav, (My Father’s Palestinian Slave) is distributed in Sweden. The film premiered at the Stockholm Jewish Film Festival in 2007 and has been screened at several film festivals worldwide thereafter. Nathanel Goldman Amirav is living in Stockholm and studying Film and TV production. Director's statement: "Seeing my father, the peace activist, through the lens of the camera, I discovered a sad, touching and sometimes humorous clash of ideals and reality".