Denver Jewish Film Festival announces screening of Oriented, A New Doc Film Exploring the Lives of Gay Palestinians from Tel Aviv-Jaffa

Oriented, a new feature documentary chronicling the lives of gay Palestinians living in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel, has announced its screening at the upcoming 20th annual Denver Jewish Film Festival, taking place at the Mizel Art and Culture Center (MACC), on the evening of February 21, 2016 at 5:30 pm. 

The MACC, one of the Rocky Mountain region's premier art organizations strives to "illuminate the human experience" through art and cultural programming for the Jewish community and the greater Colorado populous. The 20th annual Denver Jewish Film Festival showcases the best of Jewish cinema from around the world to Colorado audiences.

Followed by multiple screenings and described as a "refreshingly candid and revelatory documentary" by Dazed & Confused magazine and "a uniquely Middle Eastern spin on a classic coming-of-age tale" by Variety magazine, Oriented follows the lives of three Palestinian friends exploring their national and sexual identity in Tel-Aviv during the Israel-Gaza conflict of 2014. 

 

Khader is a Tel Aviv "darling" from a prominent Muslim mafia family living with his Jewish boyfriend, David in Tel Aviv. Khader is conflicted by his desire for change in the face of a seemingly hopeless situation. Fadi is an ardent Palestinian nationalist confronted by guilt-ridden Jewish love and Naeem must confront his family with the truth about his sexuality. Meanwhile, a war is brewing.

 

Determined to make a change, these three best friends form a non-violent, cultural resistance group ("Qambuta") making viral content for gender and national equality. While their work may not change the world, it certainly helps them deal with the frustration of living with multi-faceted identities.