#1. Rana's Wedding (2002)

Storyline: One morning, spirited Rana (Clara Khoury), a Palestinian teenager living in Jerusalem, receives a startling note from her father, Abu Siad (Zuher Fahoum) : She can either get married or emigrate with him to Egypt later that afternoon. Rana dashes off to find her boyfriend, Khalil (Khalifa Natour), but must negotiate menacing Israeli checkpoints and strict Islamic law as she races across the West Bank. She begins to wonder if she really wants to stay after all.

Plot Keywords: palestinian, young girl, boyfriend, father, grandmother, israeli, frenetic ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#3. Lemon Tree (2008)

Storyline: Salma Zidane, a widow, lives simply from her grove of lemon trees in the West Bank's occupied territory. The Israeli defense minister and his wife move next door; the Secret Service orders the trees removed for security. The stoic Salma seeks assistance from the Palestinian Authority (useless), Israeli army (dismissive), and a young attorney, Ziad Daud, who takes the case; this older client attracts him. While the courts deliberate, the Israelis fence her trees and prohibit her from entering the grove. As the trees wither, the defense minister's wife and, separately, an Israeli journalist, look on Salma with sympathy. In this allegory, does David stand a chance against Goliath?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: widow, wife, lawyer, journalist, guard, emotional, striking ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#4. Paradise Now (2005)

Storyline: Palestinians Said and Khaled, now in young adulthood, have been lifelong friends living in Nablus in the West Bank. They have both had what they consider a difficult life, now working side-by-side in unfulfilling jobs as auto mechanics in a small garage, being unfulfilling as difficult as the jobs were to get. Those difficult lives includes feeling like they are prisoners in the West Bank, Said who has only left the region once on a medical issue when he was six. They blame all their problems on the oppression by the Israelis. As such, they have volunteered and have been accepted by a Palestinian resistance group to carry out a suicide bombing mission in Tel Aviv: after the initial response to the first bomb, the second bomb would be detonated at the same site. Following the bombing, the resistance group would release pre-taped video messages of Said and Khaled confessing to the bombing in the name of God. The mission would require Said and Khaled to cross "illegally" into Israel. ...

Plot Keywords: suicide bomber, terrorist, guard, love interest, childhood friend, gutsy, tense ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#5. The Settlers (2016)

Storyline: The first film of its kind to offer a comprehensive view of the Jewish settlers in the occupied territories of the West Bank. An historical overview, a geopolitical study and an intimate look at those people at the core of the most daunting challenges facing Israel and the international community today as the Palestinians and Israelis resume talks again.

Plot Keywords: elderly man, israeli, elderly woman, settler, jew, brooding, engaging ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#6. Private (2004)

Storyline: A Palestinian family with five children lives outside town, near Israeli settlements. Samia, the wife, wants to leave; so does one teen son. Mohammad, the patriarch, is adamant that he is staying. Two of his adolescent children want to fight. His is the passive aggression of non-violent witness. Israeli soldiers burst into the home, taking over the second floor. At night, the family is locked in the living room. We see the effects of the occupation on the children and on the marriage. Through the eyes of Miriam, the older daughter, we watch the soldiers from her hiding place. Jamal, the eldest son, sets a trap with a grenade. Characters call upon Allah. Chaos and death are close.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: father, mother, son, daughter, israeli, soldier, tense ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#7. Laila's Birthday (2008)

Storyline: Abu Laila used to be a judge, but because the government doesn't have the means to renew his assignment he is forced to be a taxi driver. On the day his daughter Laila becomes seven years old his wife insists that he'll be at home early and bring her a present and a cake. Abu Laila's has nothing else on his mind then completing this mission. But the daily life in Palestine has other plans.—Anonymous

Plot Keywords: taxi driver, wife, daughter, store clerk, terrorist, passenger, bleak ...

Movie Details Click Here!