Coexistence, My Ass! by award-winning Lebanese-Canadian documentarian Amber Fares tells the story of Israeli stand-up comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassia and her rebellion against the politics of the Israeli government.
Noam’s mother is an Iranian Jew, and her father is of Romanian Jewish descent. In their youth, her parents were active in a movement that advocated Palestinian rights, and the family lived in a village called Oasis of Peace, where Jews and Arabs sought to live together peacefully. The children learned both Arabic and Hebrew, and everyone had equal rights.
Noam grew up to become a messenger for the Jewish-Palestinian peace process and a political activist. After years of activism, she heard a story about a Ukrainian comedian who played the president on television and eventually became one in real life. This made her understand the power of comedy, and Noam decided to become a stand-up comedian herself.
Coexistence, My Ass! is built around Noam’s stand-up show of the same name. The atmosphere of the show is relaxed, although it does not shy away from political content or difficult questions. Interwoven with the performance are sequences reflecting Noam’s life over the years.
The film, which has been widely screened at international film festivals, is essentially proof that even when facing the most difficult issues, if the heart is in the right place, humour can help build bridges instead of burning them.
Jaana Semeri (translated by Elina Huttunen)
Language: English, Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi
Subtitles: English
- Name in Original Language: Coexistence, My Ass!
- Director: Amber Fares
- Country: USA, France
- Year: 2025
- Length: 95 min
- Cinematography: Amit Chachamov, Philippe Bellaïche, Amber Fares
- Editing: Rabab Hajyahya
- Production: My Teez Productions, Home Made Docs
Showtimes:
- Cinema Sõprus: Wednesday, 4.02 - 21.00
- Cinema Sõprus: Saturday, 7.02 - 15.30