Directed by Elia Suleiman
(France/Morocco/Germany/Occupied Palestinian
Territory, 2002, 92 min., in Arabic, English, and
Hebrew with English subtitles, digital)
Friday, July 19, 7:00 p.m. BROWN
Introduced by Dr. Tish Stringer, MFAH lead projectionist
Writer/director Elia Suleiman stars in this collection of cinematic vignettes capturing the absurdity of everyday life under occupation. A dark comedy in the style of Jacques Tati or Buster Keaton, Suleiman pokes fun at tragic situations and encourages us to do the same in ironic, imaginative scenes about garbage, neighbors, and dating. The surreal logic highlighted in the film played out in real time during its release more than 20 years ago as Divine Intervention seemed poised to secure an Oscar nomination after winning the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, but was rejected by the Motion Picture Academy because entries must be nominated by their nation of origin, and Palestine was not recognized as a nation. — Dr. Tish Stringer