Synopsis
Lily is a schoolteacher who lives with her husband, a theatrical actor in Jerusalem. Her husband gets a role in a play in Ramallah, so he goes there every day to train, where he sometimes has to sleep over. One day, when home alone, Lily is visited by the Ministry of Interior inspector, who comes without making an appointment. The inspector is rewarded for each case he can prove that Jerusalem is not the center of a family’s life. Lily’s presence at home and showing all the necessary documents, contract, and bills is not sufficient evidence. The inspector tries to manipuulatively prove that Lily and her husband do not live in the same house, and that they spend more time than allowed in Ramallah. Unable to prove it, he goes to the kitchen and opens the fridge and checks if there is fresh milk and bread in the fridge (breakfasting outside their house may mean that Jerusalem is not the center of their lives). He then goes to the bedroom and bathroom and checks if there are towels, clothes, underwear, and toothbrushes. Notably, such laws have resulted in the expulsion and non-return of fifteen thousand Palestinians.
Ismail Habbash is an independent Palestinian scriptwriter and filmmaker. He studied at the Jerusalem Center for TV and Cinema and worked as assistant director on a feature film and a documentary. He wrote two scenarios for feature films and several short films. He also directed a number of short films, some of which participated in Arab and international film festivals.