West Bank Story

"A little singing, a little dancing, a lot of hummus."

2005 0h 21m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 22★7.2IMDB · 1,709

MusicComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands in the West Bank... David, an Israeli soldier, falls in love with the beautiful Palestinian cashier, Fatima, despite the animosity between their families' dueling restaurants. Can the couple's love withstand a 2000-year-old conflict and their families' desire to control the future of the chickpea in the Middle East?

“A little singing, a little dancing, a lot of hummus.”

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Cast

Ben Newmark
David
Noureen DeWulf
Fatima
A.J. Tannen
Ariel
Joey Naber
Ahmed

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ari Sandel
Writers: Ari Sandel
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 21-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Ben Newmark and Noureen DeWulf and A.J. Tannen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A little singing, a little dancing, a lot of hummus.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0438575 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 22 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ari Sandel directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 21-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Released 21 years ago.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Ben Newmark and Noureen DeWulf and A.J. Tannen carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "A little singing, a little dancing, a lot of hummus.".
6IMDB entry: tt0438575 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 22 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Runtime: 21 min · 0h 21m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: West Bank Story (2005)
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 1,709 votes

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 8 wins & 1 nomination total

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Ari Sandel

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-22
★ 7/10
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.