''West Bank Story'' is a 2005 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Ari Sandel Ari Devon Sandel (born September 5, 1974) is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing the short film ''West Bank Story'' (2005), which won the 2006 Academy Award in the category Best Live Action Short Film. Life and career Sandel was bor ...

, co-written by Sandel and Kim Ray, produced by Pascal Vaguelsy, Amy Kim, Ashley Jordan, Ravi Malhotra, Bill Boland, and featuring

choreography Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

by Ramon Del Barrio. The film is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of the classic 1961 musical film ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'', which in turn is an adaptation of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

''. The film follows the rivalry between

falafel Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served ...

restaurants, one

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 ...

i and the other Palestinian, respectively named the "Kosher King" and the "Hummus Hut," and the romance between the latter's cashier and an Israeli soldier in the West Bank. The film stars Ben Newmark as the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...

soldier,

Noureen DeWulf Noureen DeWulf (née Ahmed) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles in ''West Bank Story'' (2005), ''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'' (2009), and ''The Back-up Plan'' (2010). She also starred as Lacey on the sitcom ...

as the Palestinian cashier, A.J. Tannen as the Israeli restaurant owner, and Joey Naber as his Palestinian rival. Filmed on a

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17 ...

ranch,The ''Haaretz'' (Feb. 2007)
Musical comedy on West Bank wins Oscar for best live action short film
/ref> the short premiered at the 2005

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

, and was screened at numerous additional film festivals across the world, garnering several awards. In 2007, at the

79th Academy Awards The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...

, it won the Oscar in the category Best Live Action Short Film.

Plot

The film begins with a scene in which the Palestinians and Jews are both snapping their fingers, similar to the opening scene of ''

''. The two parties head to their own family-owned falafel stands (Hummus Hut and Kosher King) where they sing "Our People Must Be Fed/Our People Must Be Served". During the day, Hummus Hut employee Fatima and Israeli soldier David are daydreaming about each other (in the romantic duet, "When I See Him"). When Fatima rushes to give a customer his forgotten leftovers, she has a chance encounter with David, and they realize their mutual attraction. Upon returning to the shop, Fatima's brother shows her that the Kosher King Jews have a machine that encroaches a few inches onto their property. The head of Hummus Hut throws a rock into the machine, making it malfunction, provoking a standoff between the two families (resolved by David and Fatima). Ariel, head of the Kosher King, decides he is going to build a wall. After they leave, David and Fatima stay, and David indicates he'll come to her balcony that night. The construction begins, and the Palestinians plan to end it abruptly ("We're Gonna Build It"). As such happens, David goes to Fatima's house ("This Moment Is All We Have"), wanting to kiss her, but Fatima refuses, saying it will only escalate the conflict. They head over to stop the fight. As they do, it is revealed to Fatima's family that they are in love. The following fight tips over a canister of gasoline, causing the entire stand to catch fire. David goes to warn the Israelis, who celebrate - until an ember reaches the Kosher King, which proceeds to catch on fire. As the Hummus Hut denizens celebrate, Fatima points out to everyone that they are only making their lives worse. The next morning, expectant falafel customers are oblivious to the fire, and still want food. Ahmed and Ariel have nothing, but David and Fatima scrape together some of the remaining food, merging the two falafel stands. After the others are working, David and Fatima kiss. At the very end, Fatima asks what will happen if their families cannot stop fighting. David says he will "take you to a place called...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

", alluding to the song " Somewhere" in ''West Side Story''.

Awards

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

** Live Action Short Film

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

* Now Film Festival ** Finalist *

Indianapolis International Film Festival Founded in 2004, the Indianapolis International Film Festival seeks to create a shared experience by championing films that entertain, challenge, and expand perspectives in Indianapolis and beyond. Indianapolis International Film Festival is also ...

**Audience Award - Best Short *Malibu Film Festival **Special Jury Award - Best Live Action Short Film *Method Fest **Special Mention * Stony Brook Film Festival **Festival Grand Prize

References

External links

* *
79th Annual Academy AwardsInterview feature
by

CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...

's ''Inside the Middle East'' (video) {{Romeo and Juliet film adaptations 2005 films 2005 comedy films 2005 short films 2000s musical comedy films 2000s parody films Live Action Short Film Academy Award winners Israeli–Palestinian conflict films American interfaith romance films Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare Films based on Romeo and Juliet Films directed by Ari Sandel Films set in restaurants Films shot in Los Angeles County, California American films based on plays Hummus 2000s English-language films 2000s American films

Plot

Awards

See also

References

External links