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| Middle East: War, Peace and Love
| | | The past and present of the Middle East have affected many directors participating in this year's festival programme. The area and its history, as well as the films inspired by them, can be defined by extremes: war and peace, deepest tradition and newest new.
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The Time
that Remains | | Elia Suleiman's largely autobiographical film The Time that Remains tracks down the story of a Palestinian family from late 1940's till today. The film depicts the everyday lives of Palestinians, and shows how those, who have stayed in the area, have become an ethnic minority in their own country.
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|  Eyes Wide
Open (Einaym pkuhot)
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| Heim Tabakman's Eyes Wide Open (Einaym pkuhot), on the other hand, provides a peek into the lives of Hasidic Jews in their Jerusalem community. Aaron Fleishman is an honorable butcher, whose life is transformed as a stranger walks into his shop. The two men become colleagues, and their friendship soon deepens into something else. Aaron allows himself to be carried away by his emotions, but soon the community begins to question the morality of the relationship.
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Lebanon
Ceasefire (Waffenstillstand) | | The military crisis of the Middle East provide the backdrop for Samuel Maoz' prizewinning film Lebanon, which is based on the events of 1982 Lebanon War. The film is a startling depiction of the chaotic nature of war, and impresses the viewer with its effective shots filmed from inside a tank.
Lancelot von Naso's Ceasefire (Waffenstillstand), then, focuses on the war on Iraq. In the film, a 24 hour ceasefire results in a race against time while trying to rescue a group of wounded comrades.
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Tehroun | | Nader T. Homayoun portrays life in modern day Iran with his film Tehroun. In the buzzing metropolis of Tehran, Ibrahim and his friends are trying to make money by all means possible, from begging to small-time crime. After being swindled themselves, though, the group of men end up delving deeper into the criminal world than they are prepared for.
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