JUNCTION 48 Trailer Comes Straight Outta Palestine

Co-written by Arabic language hip hop star Tamer Nafar and The Messenger writer-director Oren Moverman and loosely based on Nafar's own experiences, Udi Aloni's Junction 48 blew audiences away when it premiered in Berlin - winning the audience award in the process - and with the film now about to have its US bow in Tribeca we've tracked down the trailer for its impending Israeli theatrical release. Here's how Tribeca describes it:

“My songs aren’t political, they just describe the place I come from.” Aspiring rapper Kareem (Tamer Nafar), the central character in Udi Aloni’s Junction 48, infuses his every action with music: from meeting friends and family dinners to video chats with his girlfriend Manar (Samar Qupty). After a car wreck kills his father and critically injures his mother, music is the thing to which he clings. But as his hip-hop ensemble begins to rise in the ranks of acclaim, we begin to question whether his lyrics can really be divorced from his politics. The title of the film refers to the 1948 Palestine War, the aftermath of which still looms large over successive generations. The film has its share of sudden and senseless violence, deploying the single crack of a pistol to explore the intersection of personal and political tragedy.

Yes, the headline here is a bit of an easy play on US hip hop culture but it appears merited by both the critical response to the film and the sheer energy of its trailer. I can't think of a lot of circles where hip hop culture would be less warmly received than the more conservative elements of the middle east which brings a sharp edge to the politics and high stakes to the normal arc of teen rebellion and the whole thing just looks like potent - and entertaining - stuff. Check it out below.