Partner with the Enemy
"As funny as it is suspenseful and moving, the film tells a complex story suffused with vibrant color and strong characters."
MidnightEast
"Unpredictable and innovative... a seemingly impossible friendship in which business, femininity and family are all entangled, all of which occurs against a backdrop of suspicion that is only natural when each side has long been defined by the other as the enemy."
Yael Munk
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Read StorylineThe three Darwish brothers, who immigrated from Iraq to Israel in the 50’s, established the family factory “Fantasia” - a menorah factory. For a time period of 50 years they designed, manufactured and shipped Chanukah menorahs for the entire world and now…the family factory is about to close down. From this point in time, the director, who is the son of the youngest brother, is starting to embark on a journey that unravels the history of his family, going back 100 years. The story weaves memories from Iraq and Israel - two homelands, two languages, two identities, two enemies. The director is trying to reconstruct the narrative of his family, a narrative that has disappeared in the silence and shame that followed the family move to Israel. The father’s silence is finally broken by the director’s relentless inquiries, which reveal a story about 5 lost years of his father in the Iraqi prison. It is a diary film shot over a period of 10 years.
“Peace in the Middle East would come about more easily if the region were governed by women." Roger Ebert
I was drawn to Anat and Rola’s story because it is such a rare one, and because these two women – who are open and funny, who refuse to allow themselves to be defined by the conflict’s many stereotypes – serve as an allegory for many women in the region. The film ultimately begs a simple yet provocative question: can women succeed where men have failed for decades and bridge the political, national and religious differences that divide us?
The film attempts to portray a topic that has been over-politicized and even abused, using humor and personal narrative to demonstrate the absurdity of the political situation in Israel and Palestine.
Documentary | Israel | 2015
60 min
Hebrew, Arabic
Subtitles: Arabic, English
Directors: Duki Dror & Chen Shelach
Script: Galia Engelmayer Dror
Cinematography: Philippe Bellaiche
Editor: Duki Dror & Chen Shelach
