WAJIB World Cinema

Shadi is a 30-something Palestinian architect who’s traveled home to Israel from Rome to assist his father, Abu Shadi, in the distribution of wedding invitations for his sister’s upcoming nuptials. As the two men drive around Nazareth, paying calls to an array of friends, family and neighbors, the ideological divides between father and son bubble to the surface. Anchored by two strong performances from real-life father and son duo Saleh Bakri and Mohammad Bakri, and directed with warmth and subtlety by Annemarie Jacir, WAJIB addresses issues faced by modern-day Palestinians — living abroad and in Israel — with a keen eye and refreshingly light hand. – Beth Hanna