Other Israel Film Festival

A rare look into the profound workings of the Jubran family, a Palestinian family of musicians from al-Rameh village in the northern Galilee. The Father, Elias, a musician and instructor has been building traditional string instruments such as ouds and bouzouqs in his al-Rameh workshop since 1965. The film connects the history of two generations and questions cultural identity between protest, resignation and hope.

Prue Thorner founded BedouinWeaving.com to promote the wellbeing of the Bedouin women in the village of Lakiya in Israel's Negev Desert. She tells their story through her photographs of these women at work, and helps support them through the sale of their embroidery and weaving.

Free Admission. This event will take place between 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm.

A photo-documentary project which examines contemporary visions of Arab society in Israel from a unique angle. 18 focuses on young Arab men and women at the pivotal age of 18 years old. This age is serves as a major divide in Israeli society as most citizens join the military, while most Arab citizens do not. The project includes a series of profiles of various individuals in Arab communities around Israel, including environmental portraits as well as documentation of their lives and close surrounding. Other Israel Film Festival had collaborated with the award winning Israeli photographer Natan Dvir to create and photograph this series of profiles.

Free Admission.

Despite being one of Israel's leading columnists, novelists and screenwriter, Sayed Kashua feels he doesn't belong. The Jews don't like him because he's an Arab. The Arabs don't like him because he's successful. The Arabs think he's a collaborator. The Jews think he's a drunk. He's always the "other" and he's always scared. This intimate portrait follows Kashua over seven years through the upheavals and events that change his life, wandering from place to place, from nation to nation, belonging neither here nor there.

'A Badal deal marriage' is the common practice of a Muslim tradition where a brother and sister from one family marry a sister and brother from another family - interlocking the two couples forever. Divorce on the part of one couple will immediately lead to the divorce of the other part of the deal. The film follows a family during the process of putting such a deal together. It portrays the lives of Palestinian women living within Israel, their difficulties and struggle to be a part of their traditional society vs. the quest to maintain their full rights as women, and citizens of a democratic state.

More episodes from the successful groundbreaking satire, following Amjad, a 35-year-old Arab journalist, married to Bushara (a social worker) and father to Maya. Torn between his desire to become the darling of the In-crowd on one hand, and represent the suffering of Arabs at any given forum, he is mocked and criticized by his family and close community. Amjad's only ally is his friend Meir (an Israeli Jew) - a photographer who works with him at the newspaper, a sworn bachelor who falls In love with Amal, Bushara's feminist Arab friend.

In the heart of Jerusalem stands an unusual symbol of unity that defies generations of segregation, violence and prejudice: a gay bar called Shushan. This award-winning documentary goes inside this underground sanctuary where people of opposing nationalities, religions and sexual orientations create an island of peace in a land divided by war. Through a coclorful cast of characters from all walks of life, the film explores the effort to find and share a sense of community in spite of differences of religion and nationality.

A staple of the Palestinian hip hop scene, Sameh "SAZ" Zakout rhymes in Arabic, Hebrew and English and is widely hailed for his beatbox technique. Born and raised in Ramle, a predominantly Palestinian Arab city within Israel, SAZ has been featured in Rolling Stone and on CNN. His lyrics are very blunt and direct, and his songs deal with political, social and personal issues.

Admission: $20.