Palestinian comedy short film nominated for Oscar

What do you get when you force Palestinian nuns and Israeli Jews to work together? Well, as evident by Basil Khalil’s Ave Maria, it’s just the right ingredients for a quirky comedy.
The 15-minute short follows a group of five Palestinian Carmelite nuns from the Sisters of Mercy convent who are forced to abandon their silent prayers after a bantering family of Israeli settlers accidentally crash into their property.
In spite of their religious differences, the nuns, who are forbidden to speak due to a vow of silence, and the Israeli family, whose own physical abilities are limited due to the Sabbath, must work together to find a solution.
A French/German/Palestinian co-production, Ave Maria marks the second short for the up-and-coming Palestinian director, who is not new to satirical or religious territory, either. Khalil’s previous short, 2005’s Ping Pong Revenge, was a musical comedy about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The film, which has already won top prizes at film festivals in Grenoble, Montpellier and Dubai, is one 10 finalists vying for Best Live Action Short Film at this year’s Academy Awards.
I spoke to Khalil about developing a comedy with religious themes, depicting Israeli-Palestinian issues on the big screen, and his upcoming Jamie Oliver-inspired feature debut.

ScreenPicks: Your film pokes fun at the physical challenges that both of these groups have on their followers. On one hand, you have the Israelis who are restricted from the Sabbath, and then the nuns with their vow of silence. As evident in your film, when you place them in this situation of a car crash, it’s a recipe for humorous possibilities. What was your inspiration behind this concept?
Khalil: “I was brought up in the city of Nazareth, and near our house was a Carmelite convent, a massive, huge palace of a building, with seven nuns who’ve taken a vow of silence. It’s like a fortress, so it’s kind of this — what struck my curiosity was how do they live under these strict rules and the modern world. These nuns are — some of them in their 70s and 80s — and they still use rotary phones and have never heard of a fax machine yet. So that’s what drew my attention.
“And then also being brought up as a Palestinian in Israel. Once you’re born, you’re instantly having to take sides — whatever religion you are. You don’t get to choose, and you have to live by those rules without even choosing them … I questioned the rules that were being imposed on you. It’s my message.”





http://screenpicks.com/2016/01/basil-khalil-ave-maria-interview/





One of the nominees for an Academy Award announced yesterday was Ave Maria, by Palestinian director Basil Khalil.

The premise sounds pretty good:

What do you get when you force Palestinian nuns and Israeli Jews to work together? Well, as evident by Basil Khalil’s Ave Maria, it’s just the right ingredients for a quirky comedy.

The 15-minute short follows a group of five Palestinian Carmelite nuns from the Sisters of Mercy convent who are forced to abandon their silent prayers after a bantering family of Israeli settlers accidentally crash into their property.

In spite of their religious differences, the nuns, who are forbidden to speak due to a vow of silence, and the Israeli family, whose own physical abilities are limited due to the Sabbath, must work together to find a solution.

From the trailers and interviews with the director, I do not sense any overtly political or anti-Israel message. It really makes fun of what seem to be arbitrary religious rules colliding with each other. That is a promising premise for a comedy. The director says that his point is to show how rules that seem strict can be broken sometimes. Without seeing the film I cannot say how respectfully he looks at either the Jews or the nuns, but there are no obvious problems in the trailers.

Although the film is considered "Palestinian," the director appears to be an Israeli citizen - he says he was brought up in Nazareth.

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.il/2016/01/palestinian-comedy-short-film-nominated.html#.VpksIlldDIX


Hope it does well