Al-Hob wa Al-Sariqa wa Mashakel Ukhra

Layabout, clandestine lover, small-time hood – Mousa has all kinds of skills. A refugee camp resident, this Palestinian does not give a damn about his father's hard-won permit to work legally in the Israeli part of Jerusalem – he would rather earn a living stealing Israeli cars and selling them to Palestinian fences. Mousa is convinced that his future lies far away from all the violence and constraints that characterise life in the divided city; his heart, moreover, belongs to a married woman. Following the theft of a Passat one day he is given a brutal going-over by Palestinian militia-men. On closer inspection of the vehicle, he makes a discovery which suddenly makes apolitical Mousa of interest to all sides ... Charmingly told in delicate black-and-white images that fascinate not only because of the film's sombre setting, Muayad Alayan's first feature film tells the story of a wastrel forced into action by circumstances. This Palestinian tribute to the French New Wave is accompanied by a strong, jazzy score. (Berlinale)