Bethlehem

Thriller | 2003 | Israel/Belgium/Germany | 99 mins | Hebrew, Arabic

Directed by

Yuval Adler

Cast

Tsahi Halevi, Sahdi Marei, Haitham Omari

Producers

Talia Kleinhendler

Synopsis

BETHLEHEM tells the story of the unlikely bond between Razi, an Israeli secret service officer, and his Palestinian informant Sanfur.

Sanfur is the younger brother of a senior Palestinian militant. Razi recruited him when he was just 15, and developed a very close, almost fatherly relationship to him. Now 17, Sanfur tries to navigate between Razi's demands and his loyalty to his brother, living a double life and lying to both.

When the Israeli secret service discovers how deeply involved Sanfur is in his brother's activities, Razi is faced with an impossible dilemma.

Co-written by Yuval Adler, who also directed, and Ali Waked, an Arab journalist who spent years in the West Bank, and based on years of research, BETHLEHEM gives an unparalleled, authentic portrait of the complex reality behind the news.

"A terrific movie - kind of like a West Bank 'Wire'" - THE NEW YORK TIMES
"The razor-sharp cutting and canny handling of tension are reminiscent of Kathryn Bigelow, and there aren't many higher compliments that could be paid for this kind of thing" - INDIEWIRE
"An impressive directorial debut for Adler who demonstrates a confident grasp of pace, place and thesp handling" - VARIETY

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