Jaffa

About The Film

In this contemporary Romeo and Juliet story, Cannes Caméra d'Or winner Keren Yedaya explores the star-crossed love between a young Jewish woman and an Arab mechanic. The narrative unfolds in a family-owned auto repair garage in Jaffa, the ancient seaside city in which Jews and Arabs live in an uneasy alliance. Mali (a standout performance by Dana Ivgy), the 21-year-old Jewish daughter of the garage owner, falls for Tewfik (Mahmud Shalaby), one of her father's Arab mechanics. The clandestine affair is shadowed by strained relations among the girl's father Reuven (Moni Moshonov), his emotionally brittle wife (Ronit Elkabetz) and their hotheaded son Meir (Roy Assaf). A tragic event drawn by prejudice and jealousy reverberates through the film's stirring closing chapter. Infused with political and social overtones, JAFFA is an insightful observation on the complexities of contemporary multi-ethnic Israel.