Film: "Tel Aviv on Fire"
In this irreverent satire, a middle-aged Palestinian slacker and a blackmailing Israeli border guard clash over the plot points of a popular Palestinian soap opera.
Discussion follows with Profs. Bernard Avishai and Ezzedine Fishere.
Salam lands a low-level position on his uncle's hit Palestinian soap opera, Tel Aviv on Fire, about a Palestinian woman who goes undercover to seduce and spy on an Israeli general, whom she may actually be falling for. Will she choose her country or the man she loves?
Deciding the answer to this question should be way above Salam's pay grade, but he is forced to provide more creative input on the script after he runs afoul of Assi, the Israeli security chief at the checkpoint he passes each day. When Assi learns Salam is involved with his wife's favorite show, he pressures Salam to make story changes both to impress his sweetheart and to paint the Israeli characters in a more flattering light—with surprising consequences. This comic angle on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict offers new insight into the obstacles and opportunities to compromise, and the role art might play in both.
Hopkins Center
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