Mona’s wedding day is slated to be one of the saddest days of her life. She knows that once she crosses the border between Israel and Syria to marry Syrian TV star Tallel, a man she has never even met, she will never be allowed back to her family in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Golan Heights. Her family must also contend with the clash between the traditional and the new, as Mona’s various family members unites to see her off. The Syrian Bride is a story about physical, mental and emotional borders, and the strength and will to cross them.
The decision to stay or to go reveals the deep contradictions of Arab life in Israel. “On Hold” explores the hesitations and moral issues affecting the filmmaker and her partner’s decision to leave Israel for a better life in Spain. Enlisting the help of her Muslim family, her partner’s Christian family, and their Arab and Jewish friends, the couple sorts through difficult questions pertaining to Arab life in Israel. Weighing their desire to relocate to a more tolerant country against their perceived burden of responsibility to stay and fight for a better life in Israel, the couple feels itself caught in a common dilemma of mixed allegiances and hybrid identities.
