LEMON TREE: MIddle Eastern drama opens 5/8 in Bay Area May 8, 2009

LEMON TREE
Middle Eastern Drama
Opens Friday, May 8, 2009 in San Francisco and Berkeley

Landmark’s Clay Theatre, 2261 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, (415) 267-4893
Tickets are $10.50 for general admission and $8.00 for seniors and children
Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 464-5980
Tickets are $10.00 for general admission and $8.00 for seniors, students and children

Showtimes and tickets will be available on 5/5
.
Advance ticket purchase at: http://www.landmarktheatres.com/tickets and at theatre box office.

Official Film Website: http://www.ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=1418

IFC Films present LEMON TREE, a film by Eran Riklis. The film opens on May 8, 2009 at Landmark’s Clay Theatre in San Francisco, and Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley. Also scheduled to open Camera Cinemas in San Jose on May 8 or later (tbd.)

Hiam Abbass (The Visitor) won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Actress for this film. She plays Salma, a Palestinian widow who stands up against her new neighbor, the Israeli Defense Minister, when he moves into his new house opposite her lemon grove, on the green line border between Israel and the West Bank. The Israeli security forces are quick to declare that Salma's trees pose a threat to the Minister's safety and issue orders to uproot them. Together with Ziad (Ali Suliman), her young Palestinian lawyer, Salma goes all the way to the Israeli Supreme Court to try and save her trees. Her struggle raises the interest of Mira (Rona Lipaz-Michael), the Defense Minister's wife, who is trapped in her new home and in an unhappy life. Despite their differences and the borders between them the two women develop an invisible bond, while forbidden ties grow stronger between Salma and Ziad. Salma's legal and personal journey lead her deep into the complex, dark and sometimes funny chaos of the ongoing struggle in the Middle East, in which all players find themselves alone in their struggle to survive. Directed and co-written by Eran Riklis (The Syrian Bride, Cup Final).

MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL 2008
2008 BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL / WINNER, AUDIENCE AWARD
2008 ISRAELI FILM ACADEMY AWARDS / WINNER, BEST ACTRESS (HIAM ABBASS)

Official Website: http://www.ifcfilms.com/viewFilm.htm?filmId=1418