Tel Aviv On Fire

A genial satirical comedy with a humorous look at Palestine and the Israeli occupation. We follow Salam, who works on the production of “Tel Aviv on Fire”, a soap-opera which is immensely popular both in Israel and in the Palestinian territories. One day Salam is stopped at a checkpoint by an Israeli security officer, whose wife is addicted to the soap opera. Eager to impress his wife, the security guard tries to force Salam to change the plot of the series in line with his wife's likings. From here, Salam tries to insert the changes in to the soap opera plot, while not revealing that his ideas are indeed from the Israeli guard. At the same time, the show's producer tries to balance between being anti-Zionist enough to attract the Palestinian audience, while at the same time not offend the Israeli audience so much that they stop watching. Tel Aviv on Fire is a brilliant debut film from Palestinian director Sameh Zoabi.

Director

Sameh Zoabi (f. 1975) er født og oppvokst i nærheten av Nazareth. Han studerte ved universitetet i Tel Aviv, før han dro til USA der han fortsatte studiene ved Colombia University. Han debuterte som spillefilmregissør i 2010 med Man Without a Cell Phone, og fulgte opp med Under the Same Sun i 2013. Han har også skrevet manuset til Idol, regissert av Hany Aby Assad. Tel Aviv on Fire er hans tredje spillefilm, og hadde premiere under filmfestivalen i Venezia i fjor.