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Man Without a Cell Phone

  • Pulitzer Hall World Room, Columbia Journalism School 3rd Floor 2950 Broadway New York, NY, 10027 United States (map)
 

Due to overwhelming interest, this event is now full and RSVPs are no longer being accepted. Thank you for your understanding.

 
 
 

Join us for a special film screening and discussion with the filmmaker, Sameh Zoabi!

In conversation with

Hamid Dabashi

 
 
 

SYNOPSIS

Twenty-something Palestinian-Israeli slacker Jawdat just wants to have fun with his friends, talk on his cell phone and find love. Instead, he navigates unconvincing dates with Muslim, Christian, and even Jewish girls, and wrestles with the Hebrew college entrance exam.

Meanwhile, his curmudgeonly olive-farming father, Salem, is determined to drag Jawdat and his whole community into a fight against a nearby Israeli cell phone tower that he fears is poisoning the villagers with radiation.

As Salem’s efforts to remove the tower disrupt Jawdat’s precious cell phone reception, preventing any further communication with his potential girlfriends, Jawdat is forced to face the battle and grow up to be a man.

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Man without a cell phone
The Director's Notes

The inspiration for this story is grounded from personal experiences growing up as a PalestinianIsraeli; an experience that unconsciously births engaging and dramatic material. Twenty percent of Israel's citizens are Palestinians who live in segregated villages and towns throughout the country. Growing up, our own communities and schools are not integrated into the larger Israeli society. After high school, many young people flock to universities and the work place where they must interact with the larger Jewish-Israeli population for the first time. 

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Meet the Filmmaker

Man without a cell phone
Sameh Zoabi's biography
Sameh Zoabi's biography

Sameh Zoabi was born and raised in Iksal, a Palestinian village near the city of Nazareth. He graduated from Tel Aviv University with a dual degree in Film Studies and English Literature. Zoabi then received a Fulbright Fellowship to study Filmmaking at Columbia University, earning an M.F.A. in 2005.

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CREW

  • Director: Sameh Zoabi

  • Dop: Hichame Alaouie

  • Sound: Olivier Hespel

  • Set designer: Nael Kanj

  • Costume Designer: Hamada Atallah

  • Editor: Simon Jacquet

  • Sound Editor: Frédéric Fichefet, Hèlène Lamy u Rousseau

  • Mix: Gilles Benardeau

  • Music: Krishna Lévy

 

CAST

  • Jawdat / Razi Shawahdeh

  • Salem / Basem Loulou

  • Muhammad / Louay Noufi

  • Rana / Maysa Abd Elhadi

 
 
 

Official Selection and Awards

  • Doha-Tribeca Film Festival 2010 – Official Selection

  • New Films New Directors 2011 – Official Selection

  • Winner of the Golden Antigone at Montpellier film festival, France

  • Winner of The Audience Award at Mons International Film Festival, Belgium

  • Official selection at the 2011 New Directors/New Films, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Museum of Modern Art NY

  • Official selection Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

  • Winner of the jury special mention at the 22nd Milan African, Asian and Latin America film festival

  • Market special screening at Cannes International Film Festival

  • Winner of Dubai Film Connection

  • Recipient of Duke Grant Sundance Institute

  • Recipient of Post Production Grant of the Doha Film Institute.

  • Official Competition selection at Tribeca Doha Film Festival

  • Official Competition selection at Jerusalem International Film Festival

  • Chicago International Film Festival

  • Palm Springs International Film Festival

Earlier Event: January 25
The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine
Later Event: April 3
Seeing Like the Sea: The Politics of Solidarity and Pleasure Aboard the Ships to Gaza