City of Borders

Year: 2009
Country: ISRAEL, PALESTINE, USA
Run Time: 66 minutes

They are Israeli. They are Palestinian. They are gay. They are lesbian. And they come to the Shushan Pub in Jerusalem to discuss love, politics, and religion. This documentary follows the daily lives of pub owner Sa'ar Netanel and four young people, Israeli and Palestinian, whose interwoven personal stories show the intricacies and challenges of living a gay lifestyle in the Middle East, within a very complex CITY OF BORDERS. Shushan, says pub owner Netanel, is the one place in the city where they can be themselves. Netanel opened the pub in 2003, the same year he was elected to the city council as its first openly gay member. Adam, a former Israeli soldier who was stabbed by an Orthodox Jew while marching in a gay pride parade, proudly shows off his scar. Reva, a Jewish doctor, wants a baby while her Palestinian lover Samira, a nurse, does not. Their relationship breaks two taboos: same sex relations and relations between Arabs and Jews. And there is Boody, a devout Muslim Palestinian who performs as a drag queen. When his life is threatened, he unwillingly leaves Jerusalem for the United States where he eventually settles in the Cleveland area. (In English, Hebrew, and Arabic with subtitles) – C.K.

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