Filmmaker Beth Elise Hawk's foodie-documentary-with-a-conscience portrays an idealistic cooking festival (and the master chefs behind it) in Haifa, Israel, pairing Israeli and Palestinian cookery experts. They happily share family recipes and flavoring trips, even as missiles pound homes and terrorist bombs wreak havoc in the disputed areas.
A central unifying figure is Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, proud to proclaim herself as an Israeli Arab. She is the first Muslim to win a popular Israeli reality-TV cooking show and establishes an "A-Sham" food festival in Haifi, bringing together Palestinian and Israeli star chefs and local-favorite restaurateurs. They and the filmmakers re-affirm the regional food styles (easily flavored into a metaphor for ideal Middle East co-existence) that, in old British colonial days, bore the general name "Levantine," spanning Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, etc. before selfish nationalism, ethnic/religious divisions, and one conflict after another redrew the borders and checkpoints.
Here, Ramadan-specialty dishes, rare repasts are seldom seen for 200 years, and food only specific to wedding feasts in Gaza (which is such a war zone now they are rarely appreciated by outsiders) are lovingly prepared, served, and discussed - and photographed; cinematography by Ofer Ben Yehuda is as mouth-watering as you could ask. Hummus is described as the universal entree that goes with everything - though the subset of vegan/vegetarian viewers might find it disconcerting that mostly meat dishes are represented, although one chef does come up with an inventive vegan shwarma.
Participants observe that kitchens and hospitality here have done more to bring the two sides together peacefully than the politicians, though an asterisk must be added to the cookery manual that Haifa has long been a metropolis enjoying Arab/Jew integration, cooperation, and mutual respect more so than popular media images of the powder-keg nation. Still, where the Nobel Committee recognizes Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, it would certainly be...just desserts.
The feature's crossover appeal between culinary and political, Judaica and pan-Muslim collections speaks for itself. There is some R-level profanity (salty language, one might say), but it comes highly recommended.