Summaries

Ajami is the religiously mixed community of Muslims and Christians in Tel Aviv. These are five stories about the everyday life in Ajami.

Ajami is an area of Jaffa where Arabs, Palestinians, Jews and Christians try to live together in an atmosphere that is -to say the least - electric. Omar, an Israeli Arab, struggles to save his family from elimination by a gang of extortionists. He also courts a beautiful Christian girl, Hadir, but marrying her is far from obvious. Malek, an illegal Palestinian worker, tries to collect enough money to pay for his mother's operation. Dando, an Israeli cop, does his utmost to trace his missing brother who may have been killed by Palestinians. Binj, Malek and Omar's Arab friend, suffers from being rejected by other members of his community for mixing with an Israeli girl. All of them will meet violence, most of the time ... with violence.—Guy Bellinger

Jaffa's Ajami neighborhood is a melting pot of cultures and conflicting views among Jews, Muslims and Christians. Back and forth in time, and through the eyes of various characters, we witness how impossible the situation actually is. Sensitive 13-year-old Nasri and his older brother Omar live in fear when their entire family is in danger after their uncle foolishly wounds a prominent clan member. Naive young Palestinian refugee Malek works illegally in Israel to help finance the surgery that will save his mother's life. Affluent Palestinian Binj dreams of a bright future with his Jewish girlfriend. Jewish policeman Dando is obsessed with finding his missing brother. The tragic fragility of human existence is experienced in the enclosed community of Ajami, where enemies must live as neighbors. No location better expresses the dramatic collision of different worlds.—yusufpiskin

Details

Keywords
  • family relationships
  • brother brother relationship
  • boy
  • palestinian
  • illegal gun purchase
Genres
  • Crime
  • Drama
Release date Sep 16, 2009
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) Not Rated
Countries of origin Germany United Kingdom Israel
Language Arabic Hebrew
Filming locations Jaffa, Israel
Production companies ARTE Inosan productions Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion GmbH

Box office

Budget $1000000
Gross US & Canada $622403
Opening weekend US & Canada $35792
Gross worldwide $1331651

Tech specs

Runtime 2h 4m
Color Color
Sound mix Dolby SR Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio 1.85 : 1

Synopsis

All Filters