Zero Degrees of Separation

“George Orwell, in his wildest dreams, could not imagine a place like this.” EZRA, ZERO DEGREES OF SEPARATION Described by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz as a film “bursting with concern about identities – sexual, national, political, generational, cultural, class, ethnic and more,” Elle Flanders’ feature -length documentary “Zero Degrees of Separation” breaks from the sensationalistic media coverage of violence in the Middle East by examining the current conflict through the eyes of two mixed Palestinian and Israeli gay couples. Courageous and outspoken, their relationships are as complex and volatile as the politically charged world around them. Selim, a Palestinian, and Ezra, an Israeli, fight for the right to live together in Jerusalem. Already stigmatized for their socially taboo relationship, they live under constant threat of Selim’s deportation, despite his family’s connection to the city. Edit and Samira, a lesbian couple, work hard to try to bridge the divide between their cultures. Faced on a daily basis with the injustices of work visas, checkpoints, harassment and family separation, they remain surprisingly hopeful and compassionate. Their stories are skilfully interwoven with archival footage that depicts an idealized Israel of the 1950s. These rare, haunting images, taken by the filmmaker’s own grandparents, depict a fledgling nation brimming with pioneering joyous youth, immigrants, refugees and endless open vistas of the Holy Land. Through modern eyes, these same images now evoke larger questions of humanity, conflict and nationalist aspiration. Elle Flanders’ uniquely human aesthetic makes Zero Degrees of Separation not just a film for our times but a film for all times. “Zero Degrees of Separation” is directed, written and produced by Elle Flanders (Graphic Pictures) and produced by Elle Flanders and Peter Starr (NFB).