Israeli Oscar nomination imitates life

February 10, 2010 - 10:37 AM by

A scene from 'Ajami'

The good news – another Israeli film, ‘Ajami’ – the third in three years – has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
The bad news – if it wins, some of the actors might be in jail instead of at the ceremony in Hollywood.

The film, about the lives of Arabs and Jews in the impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhoods of Jaffa, uses amateur actors to capture the gritty realism that prompted its nomination. However that realism spilled over into… um… reality last week when two brothers of the film’s co-director were arrested for fighting with police in a scene that could have been pinched directly from the film.

According to an AP report, Yaron Shani, a Jew, and Scandar Copti, an Arab — shot “Ajami” on location in the rundown, scrappy neighborhood of the same name in the city of Jaffa, and used local residents to play the main roles in the film. One of them was Copti’s brother, who along with a third brother, was arrested in the skirmish over alleged drug use.

Residents said that on Saturday evening, two teenagers were burying a dead dog when police arrived, suspecting they were hiding drugs. When they questioned the youths, Arab neighbors, who generally distrust law enforcement, came to the scene, some scuffling with police.

Tony Copti, 29, who appeared in the film, told The Associated Press that police are often harsh with Arab residents. After confronting police, he and his brother Jiriass were handcuffed and sprayed in the face with pepper spray before being taken away for questioning, he said.

Police said they briefly detained the men for attacking officers, releasing them after questioning. They gave no further details.

In the ‘Ajami,’ police enter Ajami to arrest a drug dealer and neighbors protest, allowing the dealer to slip away. In the next scene, Jewish police blame Arab residents for preventing them from cleaning up the neighborhood.

“The story in the film, that’s how it really happens in Jaffa,” Tony Copti told AP.

While the whole incident was greatly unpleasant for the principals, it may inadvertently drum up better publicity for the film than a full page ad in Variety.

Tags: , , , , • Category: A New Reality, coexistence, Crime, General, Life, Movies 

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