“Sand Storm” is the first feature film from Israeli director Elite Zexer. After an impressive performance in major film festivals this year, it was chosen as the Israeli submission for a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, and now it’s coming right into your living room.
A family drama set in a Bedouin village in Southern Israel, the “Sand Storm” trailer opens by showing the marriage of Jalila’s (Ruba Blal) husband to a second wife. The theme of the film seems to be a rebellion against tradition, and that opposition manifests itself in many ways from one daughter daring to wear jeans, to another daughter (Lamis Ammar) fighting for a love affair that has the potential to shame her family. Even Jalila struggles to accept her husband’s new wife and her new position in their family. Here’s the official synopsis:
Sand Storm tracks wedding festivities as they get underway in a Bedouin village in Southern Israel. Jalila finds herself in the awkward position of hosting her husband Suliman’s marriage to a second, much younger wife. During the celebration, Jalila stumbles across her eldest daughter Layla’s involvement with a boy from her university — a strictly forbidden liaison that would shame the family. Burying the indignity of Suliman and his new bride living next door, Jalila also tries to contain Layla’s situation by clamping down on her. But Layla sees a different life for herself…
“Sand Storm” feels like a story Elite Zexer was born to tell. Her understanding of the characters and the culture creates an emotional experience unlike any other, and her feature debut made her one of the breakthrough directors of 2016. Stream “Sand Storm” on Netflix starting December 15th.