Ave Maria (2015)

The silent routine of 5 Nuns living in the West Bank wilderness is disturbed when an Israeli settler family breaks down right outside the convent just as the Sabbath comes into effect.

Director:

Basil Khalil

Writers:

Daniel Ka-Chun Chan (as Daniel Yáñez Khalil), Basil Khalil

Stars:

Maria Zreik, Huda Al Imam, Shady Srour

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Maria Zreik	...	Sr. Marie
Huda Al Imam	...	Sr. Marie Angeline
Shady Srour	...	Moshe
Ruth Farhi	...	Esther
Maya Koren	...	Rachel
Sana Tanous	...	Sr. Marie Antoinette
Maria De Pina	...	Sr. Marie Josephine
Raneen Bisharat Iskandar	...	Sr. Marie of Christ Crucified

Storyline

Nuns of the 'Sisters of Mercy' convent in the middle of the West Bank wilderness have their daily routine of silence and prayer disrupted when a family of religious Israeli settlers crash their car into the convent's wall. The Sabbath is approaching and they need to get home urgently, however, because of the Sabbath laws, the Israelis can't operate a phone to call for assistance, and the Nuns have taken a vow of silence. Together they have to come up with an unorthodox plan to help them get home.

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Plot Keywords:

israeli | sabbath | convent | nun | west bank | 

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Taglines:

Rules are for BREAKING!

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016: Live Action (2016)

User Reviews

Quietly amusing, questionably Oscar worthy

France's Oscar-nominated short film Ave Maria is a screwball comedy of sorts, with its main idea revolving around religious tolerance and a desire for conflicting theologians to come together and realize the common good of reaching a goal. Revolving around a group of Israelis that break down in Palestine, Ave Maria depicts contemporary Israel/Palestine relations by having the gang of individuals look for assistance from five nuns.

As one can predict, comedic circumstances do ensue, particularly when the Palestinians are hesitant to even let the Israelis use their telephone. However, once they realize that they can do more by helping the innocent people of Israel rather than further hurting or tormenting them, some cooperation begins to occur. The unsubtle themes of Ave Maria almost effectively undermine the entire film, despite its mildly amusing comedic setup and its strong, albeit flaccid, core theme that emphasizes togetherness rather than further separation. The entire short is quietly entertaining, but questionably Oscar worthy.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Palestine France Germany

Language:

Arabic English Hebrew

Release Date:

24 February 2016 (Tunisia)

Also Known As:

Аве Мария

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$559,502, 24 January 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Incognito Films, Flying Moon Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

15 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1