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 13 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:

vow of silence | prohibited behavior | monastic silence | israeli | sabbath | 

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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

Decent Comedy

Ave Maria (2015)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Oscar-nominated comedy about a group of nuns living in the West Bank and three Jewish folks who end up on their door step after a car wreck.

This French comedy certainly isn't any sort of masterpiece but if you enjoy watching shorts then there's certainly enough here to keep you entertained. I think director Basil Khalil does a good job in structuring the story and getting it across. I also thought the short was extremely well-made and there's no doubt that the performances were fine. Did the subject make me laugh as much as I should have? Probably not but it's still worth watching.

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