Ave Maria
The Nuns of the ‘Sisters of Mercy’ convent in the middle of the West Bank wilderness have their daily routine of silence and prayer disrupted when a family of religious Israeli settlers crashes their car into the convent’s wall. The Sabbath is approaching and they need to get home urgently, however because of the religious laws, the Israelis can’t operate a phone to call for assistance, and the Nuns have taken a vow of silence. Together they must come up with an unorthodox plan to help them get home.
- Palestine, France, Germany
- 2015, 15 min
- Director: Basil Khalil
- Director of photography: Eric Mizrahi
- Editor: Basil Khalil
- Screenplay: Basil Khalil, Daniel Yáñez Khalil
- Music: Jamie Serafi
- Cast: Shady Srour, Ruth Farhi, Maya Koren, Maria Zreik, Huda Al Imam
- Contacts: Incognito Films
- Producer: Eric Dupont, Eric Fantone
- Production: Incognito Films
Basil Khalil
BASIL KHALIL was born and raised in Nazareth, to a Palestinian father and British mother. After studying for an MA at Screen Academy Scotland in Edinburgh, he also worked on a number of TV productions in London. In 2011 he was selected by Screen International as one of “Top 10 Arab Filmmakers to Watch.” BASIL is currently developing his debut feature comedy screenplay.