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>> ZU SEHEN AM
Fr, 28.11. - 23.00 Uhr im Thalia
Dokumentarfilm über den Alltag des jungen Taxifahrers
Rajai, der täglich auf seiner Fahrt von Ost-Jerusalem
nach Ramallah mit Straßenabsperrungen und Grenzen,
Umleitungen und Abkürzungen zu kämpfen hat.
Wir erfahren seine Ansichten über die Intifada,
über Selbstmordattentäter und über das
Leben allgemein. Dazu kommen die Meinungen seiner Fahrgäste,
darunter einfache Leute, aber auch Politiker wie die
Palästinenserin Hanan Ashrawi, der Filmemacher
B. Z. Goldberg und andere.
>> English
The white Ford vans driving around all over Palestine
once belonged to the Israeli army, which gave them to
former collaborators as a source of income after the
Oslo agreements. Soon, they were sold and employed as
taxis. Today, thousands of these vans drive around,
which makes the market fairly saturated. Director Hany
Abu-Assad followed cab driver Rajai and his passengers
in Ramallah and Jerusalem, along roadblocks and short
cuts.
The passengers make up a heterogeneous company with
divergent opinions about the situation in Palestine
and views of the conflict with Israel. Apart from ordinary
people, local celebrities such as politician Hanna Ashrawi
and filmmaker B.Z. Goldberg (PROMISES) make use of Rajai’s
van. With the bus passengers, the whole film then meanders
along some of the determining elements of Rajai’s
life, so we not only gain insight in this young man’s
character and background, but also into the complex
situation in the region.
For example, we hear about Rajai’s family, his
sidelines such as smuggling illegal CDs, his view of
the political situation and (im)possible solutions for
it, his dream of a future abroad, and his fascination
with and even appreciation of the perpetrators of suicide
attacks. But above all, his frustration emerges with
his life as a taxi driver. Like everywhere, this mainly
consists of finding customers before they choose to
take another taxi.
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