Written by: Valérie Zénatti, Thierry Binisti
Adapted by: from Une bouteille dans la mer de Gaza by Valérie Zénatti
Cast: Agathe Bonitzer, Mahmoud Shalaby, Hiam Abbass, Riff Cohen
Thierry Binisti started out making short films for the Forum des Images, previously known as the Vidéothèque de la Ville de Paris. These shorts explored the themes of the city’s history, its inhabitants and its particular atmosphere. He then worked as an assistant director on INDOCHINE by Régis Wargnier, APRÈS L’AMOUR by Diane Kurys and TOUT LE MONDE N’A PAS EU LA CHANCE D’AVOIR DES PARENTS COMMUNISTES by Jean-Jacques Zilbermann. He directed the short film LE LIVRE DE MINUIT in 1996; starring Dominique Blanc and produced by TS Productions, it won many prizes in short-film festivals. After his first feature L’OUTREMANGEUR, he made many docudramas for French television.
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea
2012
Where to Watch
- Apple TV
Jerusalem and Gaza - less than a hundred kilometers separate the two cities; home to Tal, a 17-year-old recent French immigrant to Jerusalem, and Naïm, a 20-year-old Palestinian confined to Gaza. After witnessing a bombing at her local café, Tal refuses to accept that only hatred can exist between these two peoples. She slips a message into a bottle, thrown into the Gaza Sea, that will be discovered by Naïm. From there begins an email correspondence and the emergence of a slim hope that their burgeoning friendship may give them the strength to face the world and to change it in their own small way.
Festivals
Festival of Young Filmmakers at Saint Jean de Luz, France: Winner of Best Film, October 2012
From Page to Image Film Festival at Croisic, France: Grand Prize winner, October 2012
Rouyn Noranda Film Festival, Quebec: Special Jury Mention, October 2012
Reunion Island Film Festival, France: Best Actor (Mahmoud Shalaby), Audience Award and Young Jury Award, May 2012
Festival de Bastia, Corse, France : Jury Award et Public’s Choice Award, February 2012
Heartland Film Festival, Indiana, USA: Narrative Feature Award and Audience Choice Award, August 2012
Busan International Film Festival, South Korea, October 2013
New York Jewish Film Festival, January 2013
Toronto Jewish Film Festival, May 2013
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, July 2013
Israeli Film Festival of Montreal, June 2013
Prix Jutra, Montréal, March 2013
Lumière Awards, France, January 2013
Distributor in Canada : Filmoption International
Distributor in France : Diaphana Films
Distributor in Brazil : Esphera Filmes
Distributor in USA : Film Movement
International Sales : EuropaCorp