First-time directors, Copti, an Arab, and Shani, an Israeli, create a gritty portrait of a cross-ethnic and multi-faith neighborhood in Jaffa called Ajami where residents live in a suffocating bubble of tension. The film follows several lives as they become entangled in the chain of oppression, corruption and violence that ultimately destroys them. Ajami is absorbing and well-constructed, filled with genuine emotion and vivid atmosphere. By using mostly non-professional actors and shooting on site, Copti and Shani capture the festering cultural wounds of their people with an authenticity that gives Ajami a potent and moving power.

– SC

Footnotes –
Ajami took top prize at the Jerusalem Film Festival and is Israel’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Oscars. I am desperate to see A Prophet, which has not opened yet, but so far, Ajami is my favorite to win.

Tags: reccomended