West Bank Story

West Bank Story is a truly creative and original short film, retelling the tale of West Side Story in the context of the Middle East. Specifically, two neighboring fast-food restaurants in the West Bank - one Jewish and one Arab.

As a musical, well, let's just call it a comedy, since the musical numbers are funnier than they are musically brilliant. But hey, it's a spoof, and social satire, and on both counts West Bank Story does really well.

The film does a great job of making fun of both "sides" equally. The satire manages to be both good-natured and poignant, fearless yet never heavy. There are many good in jokes that those who have spent time in the West Bank will appreciate if you watch closely, such as the green line separating the two sides in a split-screen moment...

Yes, it's wall-to-wall stereotypes here, but... can't we have a little fun with this? I can't imagine that having a sense of humor could make things any worse. And laughter has a healing power, so enjoy the good medicine in West Bank Story.

I was fortunate to have seen this film at the Santa Cruz Film Festival this year and it was fantastic!! Humor, political satire, song, what's not to love? I was especially impressed with the quality of the writing - very sharp and funny- and the acting and film-making overall. Really well done and thoroughly entertaining. I expected to see some familiar names in the credits, say Spielberg or some such, but was surprised to learn it was a student film from USC. Top notch production quality and talent. The story line was so true to the Shakespearean plots in Romeo and Juliet (and West Side Story) but with a modern twist and sensibilities. Very timely political spin on the tensions of the West Bank. I will be looking for this on DVD as well as watching for new projects from this creative team. A must see!

This film is hilarious! I just returned from the Sundance Film Festival, which is where I saw the film, and it got a great response from everyone in the audience. The cheers at the end were so loud, I was actually expecting a standing ovation. I attended the festival as an intern with the co-founders of the Harry M. Warner Film Institute. We're holding our first annual film festival this spring, and we went out to Sundance to see some films and get some more experience with festivals in general. After this show, both of my supervisors were so impressed that they approached the director of this film to see if he would be willing to submit a film to our festival. If you haven't seen this film yet, you are definitely missing out.

I just saw this at the Boulder International Film Festival, and it was the highlight of the comedies. West Bank Story is a ruthlessly funny send-up of everything from Middle East tension to Hollywood musicals. I have no idea how much the filmmakers spent, but they went over the top for what appears to be a student film (USC). Great casting, music including a complete orchestral score, writing, production design - this has it all, especially for a short. I hope director Ari is able to find a career in Hollywood, because he deserves it. (OK, IMDb is forcing me to write more, so I'll tell you the movie featured a camel, clever sets, etc.)

I wonder what Shakespeare might have made of this, I wonder what Steven Sondheim actually did. An handsome Israeli soldier falls for a gorgeous Palestinian girl and the battles lines are drawn. "Kosher King" v "Hummus Hut" and some rousing anthem singing, nimble dancing and falafel cooking is to settle the dispute. We've even a fiddler on the roof! The rest of the story and characters poke fun at stereotypes galore, the marketing industry and I found it a surprisingly entertaining and ridiculous send-up of political and religious differences set amidst the fantasy of fast food frolics with some cringeworthy rhymes incorporated into the lyric. Even the camel gets a kiss as the romance hots up! This is quite good, satirical, fun.