''Out in the Dark'' ( he, עלטה) is a 2012 Israeli romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

which premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

in September 2012 and in Israel in the

Haifa International Film Festival The Haifa International Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place every autumn (between late September and late October), during the week-long holiday of Sukkot, in Haifa, Israel. History The festival was inaugurated in 1983 and ...

in October 2012. It is the directorial debut of Michael Mayer (Israeli director) (מיכאל מאיר). The film tells the story of the relationship between Roy, an Israeli lawyer, and Nimer, a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

psychology student. The film was released commercially in Israel on 28 February 2013. The film has been accredited with 25 awards throughout its creation, which includes the Audience Award at the Berlin Jewish Film Festival in 2013, along with the FilmOut San Diego in 2013.

Plot

The film is set in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, where Palestinian student Nimer Mashrawi (Nicholas Jacob) is heading to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

to meet his friend Mustafa N'amnais (Loai Nofi) at a gay bar. While at the bar, he meets a Jewish lawyer named Roy Scheffer (

Michael Aloni Michael Mark Aloni (or Alony; he, מיכאל אלוני; born 31 January 1984) is an Israeli actor, director, writer and television presenter. Early life Aloni was born in Tel Aviv, to a secular Jewish family. His mother is an attorney and his f ...

). They fall in love, though Nimer struggles with the reality of their relationship. Later in the story, Palestinian society rejects Nimer because of his

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

, whereas initially Israeli society rejects him due to his

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...

. The situation is made worse for Nimer when he realises his brother Nabil Mashrawi (Jamil Khoury) is hiding a weapon stockpile for his militant friends. Nimer is granted a student visa to study at an Israeli university, giving him more opportunity to see Roy. However, he is soon approached by the Israeli Secret Service who pressure him into becoming an informant by threatening to cancel his visa. Nimer refuses and his visa is cancelled. Unbeknownst to Nimer, Mustafa has been living illegally in Tel Aviv under a similar arrangement. When he is unable to provide any more information, he is forcibly deported back to the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

where he is immediately abducted by Nabil and his gang of extremists. Nimer is forced to watch as his friend is tortured and executed for being

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

and an informant. Later, while going through Mustafa's phone, Nabil and his friends find a photo of Nimer. Despite their differences, Nabil lets Nimer escape rather than killing him. Nimer makes it to Roy's house and hides there. Meanwhile, Nabil's cache of weapons is discovered by the authorities. He is arrested and the police search for Nimer as an accomplice. Unable to hide him forever, Roy convinces an underworld figure and client of his law firm to smuggle Nimer to France. Though he promises to meet him there in the future, Roy is arrested while distracting the police so Nimer can escape. Nimer makes it to his ship and sails away, unaware of what has happened to Roy.

Cast

* Nicholas Jacob as Nimer Mashrawi *

as Roy Scheffer * Jamil Khoury as Nabil Mashrawi *

Alon Pdut Alon or ALON may refer to: * Alon (name), an Israeli given name and surname * Alon, Mateh Binyamin, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank * Alon Inc, an American airplane builder, known for the Alon A-4 * Alon USA, an American energy company * Alu ...

as Gil *

Loai Nofi Lu'ayy ( ar, لُؤَيّ, translit=lu’ayy, ; also anglicized as Luay, Louay, Loai, Loay or Luai) is an Arabic male given name. It originates as the diminutive of 'wild ox'. Its meaning is thus 'little wild ox'. It was most famously borne by L ...

as Mustafa N'amna *

Khawlah Hag-Debsy Khawlah or Khawla () is a feminine Arabic language, Arabic given name, meaning "female deer." Notable people named Khawlah or Khawla include: Khawlah *Khawlah bint Ja'far *Khawlah bint Hakim *Khawla bint Tha'labah *Khawlah bint al-Azwar *Zainab Kha ...

as Hiam Mashrawi * Maysa Daw as Abir Mashrawi *

Shimon Mimran Shimon ( he, שמעון) is the original Hebrew pronunciation of the names Simon and Simeon. Among individuals, Shimon can refer to: Given names * Shimon Agranat (1906-1992), Israeli judge and President of the Israeli Supreme Court * Shimon Amsale ...

as Daniel

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, out_in_the_dark 2012 films 2012 LGBT-related films 2012 romantic drama films 2010s Arabic-language films Films about LGBT and Judaism Films about LGBT and Islam Films shot in Israel Gay-related films 2010s Hebrew-language films Israeli drama films Israeli LGBT-related films LGBT-related romantic drama films 2012 multilingual films Israeli multilingual films