An Evening With Screenwriter Fred Rice and Director Sameh Zaobi

Jun 09, 2013

In 2010, Seattle-based writer Fred Rice’s screenplay for Man Without A Cell Phone found financing and finally went into production with director Sameh Zaobi at the helm. It’s the kind of dream most screenwriters wait a lifetime for. Rice had toiled away at the project for many years, a story of a young Arab Israeli finding his political voice, in a genial comedy about Israel-Palestine tensions. The film was a huge success, screening at dozens of festivals across the world, and even landing a European sales agent. Join us for an evening with Rice and Zaobi to discuss the process of getting this project made and out into the world. 
Screening of Man Without A Cell phone follows. 

ABOUT THE FILM
 
Man Without A Cell Phone is a heartwarming comedy anchored in generational drama and political satire. The film follows Jawdat, a twenty-something Palestinian living in Israel, who wants nothing more than to chat on his mobile, have fun with his friends and find love. Navigating unsuccessful dates and struggling with his Hebrew university entrance exam, Jawdat is uninterested in tending to his family’s olive groves and engaging with politics. Tension arises when his father, Salem, becomes determined to draw Jawdat and his entire village into a struggle against an Israeli mobile phone tower that he believes is poisoning them with radiation.

“Irrefutably pleasant."
Slant Magazine
 

<Back to Calendar