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A Matter of Size

A group of obese people from the Israeli city of Ramla is fed up with their strict diet regime. But when one of them, Herzl, starts working as a dish washer in a Japanese restaurant, he is exposed to the world of Sumo through Kitano, the restaurant manager and a former Sumo coach in Japan. Herzl falls in love with the Sumo world and persuades Kitano to coach him and his obese friends in a sport and culture where their size is to their advantage. One by one, Herzl’s friends leave their dieting club and discover the world of Sumo, where fat people like them are honored and appreciated. Through Sumo, they connect to themselves and their fat bodies, each one in his or her individual way.

Arab Labor – Season 1 Episode 1 “The Car”

Created by Sayed Kashua, a 32-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor (translated from the Hebrew “Avoda Aravit” which colloquially implies second-rate work) focuses on Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born but where his car is searched everyday when he drives from his neighborhood to his job at a newspaper in Jerusalem.

Episode 1: Amjad is stopped regularly on the road for a security check by police and does not understand why, because he thinks he looks like an average Israeli. Meir tells him that it is because the Subaru he drives is considered an Arab car. Amjad decides to trade in his Subaru and gets into trouble with the owners of the chop shop. Meanwhile, Amjad the journalist has to explain in the media why Arabs are involved in more traffic accidents.

For more information visit the Israel Film Center

 

Arab Labor – Season 1 Episode 2: “The Sheep”

Created by Sayed Kashua, a 32-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor (translated from the Hebrew “Avoda Aravit” which colloquially implies second-rate work) focuses on Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born but where his car is searched everyday when he drives from his neighborhood to his job at a newspaper in Jerusalem.

Episode 2:  Amjad moves from the news desk to the magazine. The editor asks him for a colorful, sexy piece. Amjad is not sure what to write and deliberates over what to do, until he hears from his father about a very special sheep who understands what the soldiers say. Amjad makes up an interview with the sheep, and becomes a hot item on all of the local and international television networks. As he becomes famous for a false article, can he get himself out of this bind?

For more information visit the Israel Film Center

 

Arab Labor – Season 1 Episode 3: “Kindergarden”

Created by Sayed Kashua, a 32-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor (translated from the Hebrew “Avoda Aravit” which colloquially implies second-rate work) focuses on Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born but where his car is searched everyday when he drives from his neighborhood to his job at a newspaper in Jerusalem.

Episode 3: Amjad understands that it is time for his parents to stop babysitting his daughter every day and for her to go to kindergarten and broaden her horizons. At first, he tries an Islamic kindergarten with a good reputation in the village. The little girl becomes religious, and Amjad decides to look for a strictly kosher Jewish kindergarten for her. He tries several options and encounters some unexpected difficulties.

For more information visit the Israel Film Center

 

Arab Labor – Season 1 Episode 4 “Kidnapping”

Created by Sayed Kashua, a 32-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor (translated from the Hebrew “Avoda Aravit” which colloquially implies second-rate work) focuses on Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born but where his car is searched everyday when he drives from his neighborhood to his job at a newspaper in Jerusalem.

Episode 4: After Amjad and Meir interview the Arab Miss Israel, Amjad heads home while Meir stays back to take pictures. Riding back to the city alone, Meir believes he is being kidnapped by his Arab taxi driver and his cronies. The driver struggles to understand Meir’s pleas in Hebrew to spare his life, and thinks his erratic passenger needs to go to the bathroom. Meir calls on Amjad for help when his clueless driver “locks” him in an outhouse. Amjad and his father set out on a rescue mission to free Meir from his “kidnappers.”

For more information visit the Israel Film Center

 

Arab Labor – Season 1 Episode 5: “Passover”

Created by Sayed Kashua, a 32-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor (translated from the Hebrew “Avoda Aravit” which colloquially implies second-rate work) focuses on Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born but where his car is searched everyday when he drives from his neighborhood to his job at a newspaper in Jerusalem.

Episode 5: It is the week of Passover. Meir, Amjad’s coworker, meets with Amal, an attorney and friend of Bushra. He invites her to the Passover Seder. Amjad is also invited along with his wife and children to the home of a reform family whose son goes to kindergarten with Maya. Amjad is enthusiastic about the Seder ceremony and decides to adopt the concept of the Haggadah into Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice).

For more information visit the Israel Film Center

 

Arab Labor – Season 1 Episode 6 “Reserve Duty”

Created by Sayed Kashua, a 32-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor (translated from the Hebrew “Avoda Aravit” which colloquially implies second-rate work) focuses on Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born but where his car is searched everyday when he drives from his neighborhood to his job at a newspaper in Jerusalem.

Episode 6: Amjad is called into the police and asked to help supply information to the security forces. Scared, he tries to find a way out. His mother-in-law, who just moved in with them while her apartment is being remodeled and, as always, manages to annoy Amjad, will be his way of giving the GSS (General Security Services) what it wants…

For more information visit the Israel Film Center

 

Arab Labor – Season 1 Episode 7 “Loyalty”

Created by Sayed Kashua, a 32-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor (translated from the Hebrew “Avoda Aravit” which colloquially implies second-rate work) focuses on Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born but where his car is searched everyday when he drives from his neighborhood to his job at a newspaper in Jerusalem.

Episode 7: Amjad interviews the leader of a new political party that advocates a repartitioning of Israel between Jews and Arabs. Amjad, who is not at all sure of which side he wants to be on in this new partitioning, goes to a psychologist to figure out what he truly wants. But things only get more complicated…

For more information visit the Israel Film Center

 

Arab Labor – Season 1 Episode 8 “Crime on the Border”

Created by Sayed Kashua, a 32-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor (translated from the Hebrew “Avoda Aravit” which colloquially implies second-rate work) focuses on Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born but where his car is searched everyday when he drives from his neighborhood to his job at a newspaper in Jerusalem.

Episode 8: Bushra, Amjad’s wife honks at a BMW that is blocking them, and Amjad is afraid that he is about to get into a clash with one of the village criminals. He goes up to them to apologize for his wife’s honking and gets into even more trouble. In the meantime, Meir is beside himself with jealousy because of a Palestinian student who is courting his crush Amal.

For more information visit the Israel Film Center

 

Arab Labor – Season 1 Episode 9: “Meeting the Parents”

Created by Sayed Kashua, a 32-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor (translated from the Hebrew “Avoda Aravit” which colloquially implies second-rate work) focuses on Amjad, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born but where his car is searched everyday when he drives from his neighborhood to his job at a newspaper in Jerusalem.

Episode 9: Amal wants to meet Meir’s parents. Meir, who is afraid of the meeting, hires substitute parents who will play the role of his very left-wing parents, who have no problem at all with the fact that their son is in a relationship with an Arab woman. Amjad invites Bushra out to a fancy restaurant frequented by Jerusalem’s elite, and ends up in a mess with his neighbor, the dishwasher at the restaurant.

For more information visit the Israel Film Center