Collaborators

Over the past 30 years, more than 10,000 Palestinians have been recruited as Israeli collaborators in the Occupied Territories. Under constant threat by Palestinian authorities and society and rejected by Israelis who have no desire to welcome them into their own neighborhoods, these collaborators live a fragile existence.

Musa and Majed are "jasus" -- a disgraceful name in Arabic for a spy, a traitor to his own people. Plagued by anxieties, guilt and loneliness, the two attempt to rebuild their lives. Musa desperately seeks a taste of the good life as he makes a name for himself as a drug dealer and surrounds himself with hookers. It's been over a year since he last saw his 12 children in Gaza, but he continues to send them money every month. Majed must find his Israeli handler, otherwise he faces deportation each time he tries to renew his temporary permit to stay in Israel. Both live a life of banishment and survival in downtown Tel Aviv.

Collaborators is ultimately a film about sin and punishment. Are Musa and Majed greedy opportunists deserving of exile, or two men deserving of mercy who fell on hard times and were manipulated by the Israeli security services? Whatever the case may be, the tragic circle of their lives exposes the banality, the stupidity and the cruelty of all involved.