Beyond Borders Stories of Interfaith Friendship

Product Description The friendship between two people can lead to a better understanding of their different faiths. All three award-winning features in the box set BEYOND BORDERS reveal how discrimination and fear of the other can be resolved through individual connections. Included in the set are A Bottle in the Gaza Sea (2013), Thierry Binisti's drama about the relationship forged against all odds by an Israeli girl in Jerusalem and a Palestinian boy in Gaza; Arranged (2007), Diane Crespo and Stefan C. Schaefer's romantic comedy about an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who meet as first-year teachers at a Brooklyn public school; and Foreign Letters (2012), a comedy-drama from writer-director Ela Their, set in the 1980s and centering on an Israeli girl newly relocated to the U.S. and a Vietnamese refugee who becomes her friend in this strange new land. Review A Bottle in the Gaza Sea 99 minutes / Drama / Hebrew, Arabic, French / Dir. Thierry Binisti 17-year-old Tal has emigrated from France to Jerusalem with her family. She writes a letter expressing her refusal to accept that only hatred can reign between Israelis and Palestinians. She slips the letter into a bottle, and her brother throws it into the sea near Gaza, where he is carrying out his military service. A few weeks later, Tal receives an email response from a mysterious Gazaman, a young Palestinian named Naim. Thus begins a turbulent but tender long-distance friendship between two young people that are separated by a history they are trying both to understand and change. This engrossing and hopeful drama starring Hiam Abbas is based on the award-winning novel by Valérie Zenatti. --Official Selection of Toronto Intl FF, NY Jewish FF, and many othersArranged 89 minutes / Drama / English / Dir. Diane Crespo, Stefan Schaefer Rochel is an Orthodox Jew, and Nasira a Muslim. Both are going through the arranged marriages; with family pressure on the one hand and the outside world s rejection of traditional values on the other, they rely their friendship to pull through this difficult time of their lives. --Official Selection of SXSW, and Winner - Best Feature - Brooklyn Intl FFForeign Letters 100 minutes / Drama / Hebrew, English, Vietnamese / Dir. Ela Thier In this touching tale of young friendship Ellie, a 12-year-old Israeli immigrant, and Thuy, a Vietnamese refugee, form a powerful