Yussuf Abu-Warda Movies

A man prepared to commit a profound act of hatred unexpectedly discovers compassion and understanding in this drama from Israeli filmmaker Dror Zahavi. Tarek (Shredi Jabarin) is an Arab man in his early twenties who left behind a promising career in soccer to join a radical terrorist group. Tarek volunteers to be a suicide bomber and travels from Tulkarem to Tel Aviv, planning to explode himself in the Carmel Market on a busy Saturday morning. However, Tarek's bomb turns out to be a dud, and he's left stranded with nowhere to go. Looking for a place to spend the night, Tarek is befriended by Katz (Shlomo Vishinsky), an aging electrician who lost his only son to fighting against the Arab states. As the day wears on, Tarek meets Keren (Hili Yalon), a woman who was raised in an ultra-Orthodox household and left her family behind in search of her own freedom. Tarek finds a kindred spirit in Keren and acceptance in Katz, forcing him to reexamine the choices that brought him to Tel Aviv in the first place. Sof Shavua Be-Tel Aviv (aka For My Father) received its North American premiere at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A dark drama of women living in a society where they are second-class citizens, Kadosh/Sacred begins with Meir, an Orthodox Jew living in the Mea Shearim district of Jerusalem, greeting the day with his morning prayers, which includes the phrase, "Thank you, oh Lord, for not having made me a woman." Meir begins to understand just how poorly regarded women can be in the Orthodox faith when his rabbi suggests he should leave his wife. Meir and Rivka (Yael Abecassis) have been married for ten years and have a solid relationship based on affection and mutual respect. However, they have been unable to have children, and as Meir is reminded, the Talmud says a woman without children may as well be dead. Consequently, the rabbi advises Meir to divorce Rivka and take up with a younger woman who can give him a family. Meanwhile, Rivka's younger sister, Malka (Meital Barda), is soon to wed Yossef (Uri Ran Klauzner) in a match arranged by their parents, even though Malka loves another man, Yaakov (Sami Hori), who has dared to question the teachings of the Orthodox faith. Yossef soon proves to be blind to Malka's emotional and physical needs, and she begins to wonder how long she can continue to live within this circle, even though it is the only world she knows. Destined to be controversial in its native Israel, Kadosh/Sacred was shown in competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An orphan raised on the dubious kindness of his neighbors, Mabruq is considered the village idiot, tolerated, but not loved. He is secretly in love with Jamilah, a young woman held in similar regard because she has not spoken since witnessing a traumatic event as a child. All business in the village is controlled by a tyrannical muktahr, while the region is controlled by Israeli soldiers. The corrupt village leader does all he can to keep the Israelis pleased so when they announce that someone has been counterfeiting work permits, the muktahr is quick to find someone to blame. The leader's friend and handyman Mahmmud disagrees with the muktahr's scapegoat tactics and so decides to do his own investigation to find the real crook. This ultimately leads to the mysterious death of the muktahr's son. Mahmmud is blamed for the death and escapes from town. Poor Mabruq, who felt that Mahmmud was his only friend, is devastated. Meanwhile the muktahr, seeing that his seething villagers may take actions that could destroy peace, is forced to make a difficult decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Director Yehuda Ne'eman has put together a film about a former Israeli paratrooper in West Germany who leaves for home carrying $250,000 to help found a new Arab university. The glitch in his plans for delivering the gift comes when his Arab companions insist that the money has to be spent on guns -- and he refuses to give it to them. This puts him in jeopardy with both the Arab and the Israeli extremists and garners no support for his middle-of-the-road approach. As it happens, this drama was filmed during the summer of 1982 when Israel invaded Lebanon and bombed West Beirut. The actors and crew were not disinterested parties, and either because of the politics involved or for casting against type, the performances are unconvincing even though the subject itself is strong. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi