Ο ΕΖΡΑ ΚΑΙ Ο ΣΕΛΙΜ, Η ΣΑΜΙΡΑ ΚΑΙ Η ΕΝΤΙΘ. Ο ΕΡΩΤΑΣ ΑΝΘΙΖΕΙ ΣΤΗ ΜΕΣΗ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΗ

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ZERO DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Synopsis
When your lover is most often considered your enemy your relationship has more at stake than the average affair.
Selim and Ezra are lovers caught in the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Selim is Palestinian and Ezra is Israeli. Samira and Edit met at a demonstration. They too are lovers. Samira is Palestinian, Edit is Israeli.
The documentary feature Zero Degrees of Separation takes viewers on a unique journey through the complex lives of Israeli and Palestinian gays and lesbians in inter-ethnic relationships. Though living on the margins of society, these couples defy the odds, existing in the midst of conflict with a gentle humanity and mutual respect.
Interwoven into these stories is director Elle Flanders' own rich narrative of growing up with Zionist grandparents intimately involved in the founding of the state of Israel. Drawing the past into the present through the use of home movies, the director retraces her grandparents’ travels as they tour a fledgling nation brimming with pioneering, joyous youth, immigrants, refugees and endless open vistas of the Holy Land.
In stark contrast, the modern images of the Occupation expose the cracks in the country’s foundation. Faced with endless barriers, the Palestinians in Zero Degrees of Separation must constantly detour roads, their own homes, their lands and their lives. And though violence is a daily intrusion, perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to Palestinian daily existence is the Israeli bulldozer as it destroys homes, builds barriers, settlements, bypass roads, and tears-up what little is left of this land.
Elle Flanders breaks with the sensationalistic media coverage of the violence in the Middle East by documenting the everyday lives of courageous, outspoken individuals as they take small steps towards peace, mutual respect and hope. Through their example, Zero Degrees of Separation builds bridges where only walls exist
Characters
Ezra – a 50-something year old plumber, born to Iraqi Jewish parents, who lives and works in Jerusalem. Ezra is politically aware and active, and comes across as a philosophical thinker. His insight into the rift between Palestinians and Israelis is not only informative but also deeply personal as he struggles with it daily, having chosen not just a Palestinian partner, Selim, but also a gay man nonetheless. Ezra shares an unexpected link to director Elle Flanders' family.
Selim– a 27-year-old Muslim Palestinian who resisted the Occupation in his youth, during the first Intifada, and was jailed by the Israeli army for seven years, beginning when he was just fifteen. Ezra and Selim have been together for five years and constantly struggle to live together in Jerusalem, where Selim cannot legally live and is in constant threat of being arrested for that reason. Selim speaks about the complexity of his experience, his understanding of the Palestinian struggle and his personal struggle as a Palestinian living with an Israeli man.
Samira – a Muslim Palestinian from Haifa, who is an oncological nurse in a highly specialized unit in one of Israel’s largest hospitals. She became active in the Israeli anti-occupation group Black Laundry and finds herself more often amongst Israelis. Samira is socially active and a regular on the Tel Aviv club scene. She and Edit were partners for just over a year.
Edit – a Jewish Israeli from Bat Yam, a working class bedroom community of Tel Aviv. She was born to Jewish Argentinean parents, who were targeted by the Argentinean military government in the 1960’s. Edit considers Israel the country that saved her and her family’s lives. Edit is also a feminist who worked at the rape crisis centre in Tel Aviv and is critical of and active around Israel’s policies towards Palestinians. While Edit and Samira were politically active together, they did not always see eye to eye.

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