Download PDFAve Maria, a 15-minute short film directed by Basil Khalil, it tells the story of a Jewish family who crash their car into a statue of the Virgin Mary in an Arab Christian convent. The movie happens in a home of five nuns who have taken a vow of silence, making it very difficult for the family to communicate.
As the family struggles to communicate about their problems, they must also deal with the challenges of talking with other nuns. The film uses humour to show daily difficulties faced by Jews, Arabs, and Christians living in land that each one of them claims as their own.
The film revolves around hope from the interaction between the Israeli family and the Palestinian nuns. Ave Maria film represents current Israel and Palestine relations through the journey of a Jewish family seeking assistance from the nuns.
The film shows how Palestinians are hesitant to let the Israelis use their telephone, making a series of funny misunderstandings. At the end the groups learns that they can accomplish more by working together and finding common understanding. Overall, Ave Maria is a heartwarming and thought-provoking film that explores the difficulties of coexistence in a contested land.
This article was submitted as part of the Imbila Yesu publication produced daily for the duration of the Winter School in 2024 (14-20 July 2024). It appeared in Edition 1, released on 15 July 2024. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the author and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
