Tel Aviv on Fire
A comedy about the Arab-Israeli conflict? There are few filmmakers willing to take on such a risky project, but director Sameh Zoabi proves it is still possible to find something to laugh about.
Israel, today. The famous TV soap opera TEL AVIV ON FIRE, in which a Palestinian female spy has a love affair with an Israeli General in 1967, is a huge success throughout the Middle East. Salam, a charming 30-year-old Palestinian living in Jerusalem, works as an intern on the show. Every day Salam must pass through the arduous Israeli checkpoints to reach the television studios. He meets the check-point chief, Assi, whose wife is a huge fan of the show. In order to please her, Assi threatens Salam to change the story of the show. Salam soon realizes that Assi’s ideas could get him a promotion as a screenwriter.
Salam’s creative career is suddenly also on fire, until Assi and the show’s financial backers disagree on how it should end, leaving Salam uncomfortably caught in the middle.