In Between

Subtlety may be at a premium in Maysaloun Hamoud's debut study of three female friends striving to live independent lives in Tel Aviv, but her points about the status of women in Arab-Israeli society are well worth making. Demure Muslim Nour (Shaden Kanboura) begins to come out of herself after moving in with secular lawyer Laila (Mouna Hawa) and lesbian Christian DJ Salma (Sana Jammelieh). But ultra-conservative fiancé Wissam (Henry Andrawes) takes exception to her new assertiveness and Laila and Salma conspire to break off the engagement after Nour is assaulted. The characterisation may be gauche and the situations contrived, but Hamoud delves into various aspects of the trio's lives, including relations with Jewish neighbours, the underground cultural scene, the family reaction to Salma's romance with a woman and Laila's resistance to her trendy film-maker boyfriend's efforts to suppress her free spirit. Moreover, while cinematographer Itay Gross and production designer Hagar Brutman deftly combine to contrast urban and village existence, the three leads poignantly convey the stress of living each day in fear and frustration.