David & Fatima

David & Fatima

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Alain Zaloum
Produced by Tammi Sutton
Written by Kari Bian
Alain Zaloum
Patrick Krauss
Randala
Starring Cameron Van Hoy
Danielle Pollack
Martin Landau
Tony Curtis
Music by Michael J. Lloyd
Cinematography Neil Lisk
Edited by Richard Francis-Bruce
Kimberly Generous White
Release date
  • June 27, 2008 (2008-06-27)
Country United States
Language English

David & Fatima is a 2008 drama film about a Palestinian woman and Israeli man from Jerusalem who fall in love. The film is a retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, and was directed by Alain Zaloum, and stars Cameron Van Hoy, Danielle Pollack, Merik Tadros, Anthony Batarse, Ismail Kanater, Sasha Knopf, John Bryant Davila, Ben Kermode, Allan Kolman Tony Curtis and Martin Landau. This was the last fictional movie Tony Curtis starred in.

The film encourages Arab Israeli peace.

Development

Kari Bian, the executive producer and one of the writers,[1] is an Iranian American living in Malibu, California. He recalled that he encountered hostility during a visit to Israel. Tavia Dautartas, the other producer, is also a Malibu resident.[2] Alain Zaloum, the director and the other writer,[1] is a Cairo-born Copt who during childhood moved to Canada. He had graduated from the film school of the University of Southern California (USC).[2] Bian selected Zaloum because Zaloum was not Jewish nor was he Muslim, since Bian did not want to give favoritism to either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Zaloum was the seventh director that had been hired; the producers fired the previous six choices for director.[3] Richard Francis-Bruce did editing work.[3]

Production

The film was almost completely shot in Los Angeles,[2] and shooting took place for five weeks.[3] Tim Worman, the art director, developed areas to appear like the film's settings. Some exterior shots were actually made in Israel. Dialect coaches trained the actors. In addition the actors read history texts about the conflict region. The film's budget was $600,000 ($667418.86 adjusted for inflation).[2]

Cast

Americans portrayed almost all of the major characters.[4]

Accuracy

Frantzman wrote that the film's depiction of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) was "accurate", "gritty", and "sometimes unflattering".[5] He added that Beit Hanina an Arab doctor's house in real life would be more luxurious than the one the film portrays; in addition Frantzman stated that in Jerusalem he had never encountered a bellydancing restaurant like one portrayed in the film and he did not believe such a restaurant existed.[5]

Release

A screening at the Laemmle 4-Plex Theater in Santa Monica, California was scheduled to run until July 25, 2008.[2] On September 12, 2008, the film premiered in Beverly Hills, California.[1] The filmmakers intended to distribute the film throughout the United States and in Israel.[2] There are subtitles available in Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian.[5]

Reception

During the Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival the film received the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Award for Peace and Cultural Understanding.[5]

Frantzman wrote that because ordinary Israelis prefer American films and the upper class prefers "self-critical" films, David & Fatima "received almost no attention in Israel".[5]

Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times criticized the "somewhat ersatz quality" that he says originates from the casting of Americans who made "a jumble of imprecise accents that makes one long for native speech and English subtitles."[4]

Frantzman himself concluded "David and Fatima presents an honest story, but one that also doesn't work in the end."[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Savitz, Masha. "Shakespearean-Style Drama Set in Modern Jerusalem" (Archive). Epoch Times. September 18–24, 2008. p. B1. Alternate (Archive). Retrieved on February 26, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "A love story set in a conflicted Middle East" (Archive). Malibu Times. Wednesday July 2, 2008. Retrieved on February 26, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Spiro, Joshua. "David and Fatima: An Israeli - Palestinian Love Story" (Archive). Jewish Post. Retrieved on February 27, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Goldstein, Gary. "Love crosses a divide in the Mideast" (Archive). Los Angeles Times. June 30, 2008. Retrieved on February 26, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Frantzman, Seth. "Terra Incognita: Fear and loathing in Jerusalem: Coexistence through film?" (Opinion) (Archive). The Jerusalem Post. December 22, 2009. See profile. Retrieved on February 26, 2015.

Further reading

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