Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 2 February 2017
Israel’s Arabs divided by film’s

portrayal of changing world

AREEJ HAZBOUN Strip, and many identify as But much of the reaction
Associated Press Palestinians rather than Is- from Arabs has been an-
UMM AL-FAHM, Israel (AP) raeli. As a result, many Jew- gry, with negative com-
— In Israel’s Arab commu- ish Israelis see them as a ments flooding the film’s
nity, life is imitating art. subversive fifth column. Arabic-language Face-
A new award-winning film In the film, there’s Salma, a book page. “This movie is
This undated handout photo provided by Deux Beaux Garcon about Arab women bat- lesbian DJ and bartender a whorehouse, it distorted
Films shows a scene from the movie “In Between”, the new
award-winning film about Arab women battling their conserva- tling their conservative so- who wears multiple pierc- the image of Islam,” one
tive society has touched off a real-life battle: the municipality of ciety has touched off a ings and comes from a con- commenter wrote. Some
a major Arab city in Israel has called for a boycott of the film, real-life battle: The munici- servative Christian family. social media comments
and the film’s director says she has received death threats for pality of a major Arab city There’s her sharp-tongued have threatened the di-
her unflinching portrayal of sex, drugs, parties, homosexuality in Israel has called for a roommate Laila, a lawyer rector’s life, Hamoud said.
and rape in her community. boycott of the film, and the who parties, drinks, chain- But some other comments
Associated Press
film’s director says she has smokes, and dumps her were positive too. “All the
received death threats for boyfriend because he is respect, a great movie”
her unflinching portrayal of embarrassed to introduce another commenter wrote.
sex, drugs, parties, homo- her to his family. Riham Mahameed, a
sexuality and rape in her And there’s their shy, new 22-year-old from Umm al-
community. The film has roommate Nour, a religious Fahem who studies at a
also caught many Jewish Muslim girl from Umm al- university in Beersheba,
Israeli audiences by sur- Fahm, a conservative Mus- had mixed feelings about
prise, exposing them to a lim city in northern Israel, the film. “The characters
vibrant world of fiercely who studies computer sci- are brave, representing the
independent young Arab ence at Tel Aviv University. reality we’re trying to hide
women — what the film’s Nour’s fiancé, a devout in all kinds of ways,” she
director calls the “Palestin- Muslim who is affiliated with said. But she complained
ian underground.” a charity in the city, consid- the partying women of the
“In Between,” which has ers Nour’s roommates to be film were not representa-
won accolades at Span- bad influences, and tries to tive of all Arab women who
ish, Canadian and Israeli pressure her to leave them like her leave home for
film festivals, was written and get married before she studies and work.
and directed by Maysa- is ready. He is portrayed as “The movie showed only
loun Hamoud, 35, and was violent and corrupt, and a the bad things about girls
inspired by her own experi- religious hypocrite. living outside the home.
ences living in Tel Aviv for “The message that I want Parents will be scared of
the last decade. to reach Palestinian so- what their daughters are
“It is the time now for wom- ciety is that we are very, doing,” Mahameed said.
en to come and speak very strong women,” said Abd al-Monem Foad, a
up,” said Hamoud, who Mouna Hawa, who plays spokesman for the Umm al-
sports the title of her movie the role of Laila. “We are Fahm municipality, said his
tattooed on her forearm in not defects, our voice is city has called for a boy-
Arabic and English. “Until not a defect, neither are cott of the movie because
now, we were listening to our acts, responsibilities or it gives the city, home to
men, and they were the decisions . we don’t even two central characters, a
ones to run everything.” know we are that strong, bad name.
“In Between” is the film’s because it’s as if we always “It distorts the image of
English title. In Arabic, it is need a man to be next to Umm al-Fahm,” he said. “It
called “Land Sea,” an ex- us.” distorts our young men and
pression meaning “Neither The movie is almost entirely women, it distorts their rep-
Here Nor There,” the film’s in Arabic with Hebrew sub- utation, it depicts them in
name in Hebrew. titles, and more and more an immoral and indecent
The film tells the story of cinemas in Israel are be- way.”Foad himself did not
three Arab women who ginning to screen it. The see the film.
leave home to work and director has been travel- Even some liberal Arab-
study in the live-and-let- ing across the country to Israeli commentators, like
live Israeli city of Tel Aviv. speak to audiences at the popular columnist Sayed
They find themselves stuck screenings. Kashua, have argued the
between an Arab society After one screening in film reinforces negative ste-
that often rejects nontradi- downtown Tel Aviv, a Jew- reotypes, particularly with
tional roles for women, and ish Israeli viewer wondered the film’s villain, the beard-
an Israeli society that while if the scenes of raucous ed, religious Muslim fiancé.
more open and Western- Arab dance parties really Blogger Samah Salaime
ized, often doesn’t treat Ar- reflected reality. When an- said a violent scene involv-
abs as full equals. other asked the director ing the Muslim man and his
Arab-Israelis make up if her movie was reach- fiancée Nour is “juicy mate-
about 20 percent of Israel’s ing Arab audiences, she rial for the budding Islamo-
citizenry. But they share the asked if there were Arabs in phobe,” though she notes
same ethnicity, language the audience, and dozens the film includes a positive
and culture of Palestinians raised their hands, heaping male role model in Nour’s
in the West Bank and Gaza praise on the director. father.q