Areen Omari Movies
Italian filmmaker Saverio Costanzo based his feature debut, Private, on a true story of a Palestinian family whose home was taken over by a platoon of Israeli soldiers. In the film, the family lives in between a Palestinian village and an Israeli settlement, making their home a strategic point for the Israelis. Mohammad (well-known Palestinian actor Mohammad Bakri, who also directed the documentary Jenin, Jenin), the schoolteacher father, refuses to let his family abandon their home, despite the protestations of his frightened wife, Samia (Areen Omari). While the younger children seem traumatized by the invasion, eldest daughter Mariam (Hend Ayoub) can barely control her rage toward the Israelis, and is disgusted by her father's seeming passivity. The Israeli commander, Ofer (Israeli television actor Lior Miller), locks the family in their living room each night, and warns them that the second floor is off-limits, but Mariam sneaks upstairs, and is surprised at what she finds as she spies on the soldiers while hiding inside a wardrobe. The eldest son, Yusef (Amir Hasayen), is also angry, though he doesn't say much. But he's determined to make sure that the soldiers don't tear down the family's greenhouse again. Private won the Golden Leopard at the 2004 Locarno Film Festival, and was selected by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion in the 2005 edition of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mohammad Bakri, Lior Miller, (more)
- 2002
Jabir (Gassan Abbas of Amos Gitai's Yom Yom) is a middle aged Palestinian man who lives on the West Bank with his wife, Sana (Areen Omari) and makes his living as a freelance film exhibitor. He travels around in his old truck with an ancient projector, screening films for Palestinian audiences, often children. Despite the problems inherent in traveling through the occupied territories, and the frequent equipment breakdowns, Jabir is determined to continue his work, though even his friends question the importance of his showing movies. Sana is an emergency medical worker. Though she rides in an ambulance, she encounters many of the same problems as Jabir in navigating checkpoints manned by Israeli soldiers. A schoolteacher, Rabab (Reem Ilo) asks Jabir to screen a film for the children in her class, but they live in Jerusalem, and it is forbidden for Jabir to enter the city. Complicating matters further, the home of Rabab and her elderly mother, Um Ibrahim (Najah Abu Al-Heja), has been taken over by Israeli settlers, along with the courtyard where Jabir wants to project his films. To make matters worse, Sana is beginning to feel neglected because of Jabir's obsessive devotion to his work. Ticket to Jerusalem, written and directed by Rashid Masharawi, was shown at New Directors/New Films in 2003. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gassan Abbas, Areen Omari, (more)
- 1996
Set in Palestine just before the signing of the peace accord between PLO leader Arafat and Israel's prime minister Rabin, this drama chronicles the ways in which the formal agreement affects the lives of Palestinians living in a tiny, unnamed village on the Gaza Strip. Main characters include the always upbeat former policeman Abu Said, currently a cotton candy vendor and his two cynical sons Siad, who had just been arrested by Israelis for no real reason, and the unemployed Said. Oum Said is the mother and she wants her boys to live peacefully and begin raising families and stop this nonsense about politics. Meanwhile beautiful young woman Sabah dreams of her future. Finally there is the town eccentric, Haifa who wanders about. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
The effects of a curfew upon one extended-family during a single day are chronicled in this drama set in the Gaza Community. It begins as a normal day in Gaza. Children are playing. Radar plays with them. Suddenly the Israelis announce an open-ended curfew over the loud-speakers. Everyone quickly scurries to their homes. Radar lives with his mother, his ailing father, his brother and his wife and daughter, and his angry brother Akram. The women keep things running smoothly. They have no idea how long the curfew will last and are concerned about having enough food. Radar is sent out to get some. His mother wonders if she dares stepping outside to hang the laundry. Neighbors communicate with shutters, and by peering over walls. At one point a baby is born. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Na'ila Zayaad, Younis Younis, (more)
