2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
and the 2006 Lebanon War. It is the first feature film that they made together and was developed from an award-winning 2004 short of the same name.
Plot summary
''Strangers'' opens in
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
during the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
. Rana Sweid (
Lubna Azabal
Lubna Azabal (born 15 August 1973) is a Belgian actress of Moroccan– Spanish descent.
Career
Azabal was born on 15 August 1973 in Brussels to a Moroccan father and a Spanish mother.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 ...
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, meets Eyal Goldman (Liron Levo), an
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 who grew up on a
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
, after they accidentally switch bags on a train. They eventually strike up a friendship and decide to watch the World Cup together. Their budding romance is cut short when Rana is mysteriously called back to France and asks Eyal to stop seeing her. Despite her request, he seeks her in France. They are then faced with the 2006 Lebanon War as Eyal is drafted by the Israel Defense Forces.
Cast
*
Lubna Azabal
Lubna Azabal (born 15 August 1973) is a Belgian actress of Moroccan– Spanish descent.
Career
Azabal was born on 15 August 1973 in Brussels to a Moroccan father and a Spanish mother.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 ...
. It won the '' Online Film Festival Viewers Award'' which led to funding a full-length version of the film.
They envisioned the feature version as experimental in form, largely improvised and centered around the World Cup in Berlin. Production began in Berlin with one actor (Levo), photographer and producer. They then met with actress
Lubna Azabal
Lubna Azabal (born 15 August 1973) is a Belgian actress of Moroccan– Spanish descent.
Career
Azabal was born on 15 August 1973 in Brussels to a Moroccan father and a Spanish mother. According to the directors, they wanted "the actors to improvise their lines without being bound by an official screenplay, and to let the relationship that would develop between the characteristics dictate the flow of the plot."
The war broke out two weeks into the Berlin shoot, prompting production to shut down. Tadmor noted that, "We immediately made the decision to stop shooting and return home to be with our families. When we continued shooting later in Paris, it was a different movie." The basic premise of the film, a love story, was thus further complicated by the introduction of the war when filming resumed: " 'We didn't want to do a war movie or a political movie, but it's there in the background, on the TV and radios - it's all over the place. The characters really continued their relationship while the war was all around them. We tried to avoid the clichés of the Arab-Israeli conflict, but you saw how these two characters dealt with it,' said Tadmor."
Release
After an initial showing at the
Jerusalem Film Festival
The Jerusalem Film Festival ( he, פסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים, ar, مهرجان القدس السينمائي) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusal ...
on June 8, 2007, ''Strangers'' was released nationwide 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 ...
on May 29, 2008. It was one of two films shown at the
2008 Sundance Film Festival
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was '' In Bruges'' and the closing night film was '' CSNY Déjà Vu''.
Film ...
Philippe Aractingi
Philippe Aractingi (born 1964, Beirut, Lebanon) is a film director and producer. He was born in Beirut, Aractingi is Franco-Lebanese.
Early life
At the age of 8, his father gave him his first camera. He lived on the demarcation line, at the hear ...
's ''
Under the Bombs
''Under the Bombs'' (French: ''Sous les bombes'', ar, تحت القصف; taht alqasf) is a 2007 Lebanese drama film directed by Philippe Aractingi. The film is set in Lebanon at the end of the 2006 Lebanon War.
Plot
Although she grew up in Leba ...
''.
IFC Films
IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its Sun ...
bought the U.S. rights to ''Strangers'' in 2008 after it was screened at Sundance and the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was ...
. The DVD was released by
Zeitgeist Films
Zeitgeist Films is a New York-based distribution company founded in 1988 which acquires and distributes films from the U.S. and around the world. In 2017, Zeitgeist entered into a multi-year strategic alliance with film distributor Kino Lorber. ...
on October 18, 2011.
Reception
Critical response
John Anderson of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' praised the acting as a key factor in making the film a "winner" with "first-rate" production values. Emily Wilson of KQED states that: "Exploring whether love can overcome political and social barriers is a familiar premise, but ''Strangers'' covers the territory in a fresh way. The actors, working mostly without a script, improvised their dialogue, which makes the characters feel less like pawns the filmmakers are moving around to make a point."
Accolades
''Strangers'' was an ''Official Selection'' at the
2008 Sundance Film Festival
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was '' In Bruges'' and the closing night film was '' CSNY Déjà Vu''.
Film ...
, the 2008
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was ...
, and the 2008
São Paulo International Film Festival
The São Paulo International Film Festival ( pt, Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A non-profit event, the festival is organized ...
.
*Winner: 2007
Jerusalem Film Festival
The Jerusalem Film Festival ( he, פסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים, ar, مهرجان القدس السينمائي) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusal ...
- Most Promising Actress-
Lubna Azabal
Lubna Azabal (born 15 August 1973) is a Belgian actress of Moroccan– Spanish descent.
Career
Azabal was born on 15 August 1973 in Brussels to a Moroccan father and a Spanish mother.2008 Sundance Film Festival
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was '' In Bruges'' and the closing night film was '' CSNY Déjà Vu''.
Film ...
- Grand Jury Prize, World Cinema-Dramatic
*''Nominated'': 2008
Ophir Award
The Ophir Awards ( he, פרס אופיר), colloquially known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards, are film awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. The award, name ...
- Best Actor, Liron Levo
*''Nominated:'' 2008
São Paulo International Film Festival
The São Paulo International Film Festival ( pt, Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A non-profit event, the festival is organized ...
- International Jury Award
See also
*''
Cup Final (film)
Cup Final ( he, גמר גביע, ''gmar gavi'a'') is a 1991 Israeli film set during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon by Israel and the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
Plot
A young Israeli soldier, Cohen, is kidnapped by a group of Palestinian fighters who hold ...
''
*''
Under the Bombs
''Under the Bombs'' (French: ''Sous les bombes'', ar, تحت القصف; taht alqasf) is a 2007 Lebanese drama film directed by Philippe Aractingi. The film is set in Lebanon at the end of the 2006 Lebanon War.
Plot
Although she grew up in Leba ...