9 Star Hotel

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Middle Eastern director Ido Haar helms the haunting cinema direct documentary 9 Star Hotel. The work introduces the audience to a cadre of Palestinian men who have built a transient community on the Israeli border, comprised of jerry-built huts and tiny, sarcophagus-like sleeping compartments. The men leave these quarters and systematically cross the border each morning before dawn, to work illegally at construction jobs in Israel - risking their safety and their lives to simply draw a regular income. Throughout, the workers stick close together (Haar suggests that the circumstances actually engender tighter social bonds between them) and evince a surprising sense of humor, tenacity and resilience. Meanwhile, constant hopes for improved circumstances in the future belie their lingering fears of being discovered and shot or arrested by Israeli authorities. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Subtitle: Eng
• Features:
  • Interview with director Ido Haar
  • Original theatrical trailer

AWARDS

• Hot Docs International Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2007

• San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2007

• Tribeca Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2007

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Ido Haar

• Producer:

  Edna Kowarsky, Elinor Kowarsky

• Cinematographer:

  Uri Ackerman, Ido Haar

• Editor:

  Era Lapid, Ido Haar

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Gil Toren, Yair Amir