"ONE OF THE YEAR'S TRUE STANDOUTS! A rich and absorbing drama ... Just plain gripping ... The right locale and the right subject, undertaken by the right directors."

- Michael Phillips, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

New York, June 29, 2010 - Kino International is proud to announce the release of the Academy-award nominated (Best Foreign Film category) film Ajami (2009) on DVD and Blu-ray.

The acclaimed directorial debut of the Israeli-Palestinian filmmaking duo Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti received outstanding reviews upon its US release, and was the winner of the Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Editing awards at last year's Israeli Film Academy ceremony (the Israeli Oscars).

After its world premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight program, where Ajami received a special mention by the festival's jury, this Oscar-nominated film won many other international film prizes before playing in over 100 theatrical markets in the United States.

The film was unanimously hailed as an "emotionally mesmerizing" (Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly - Grade: A) cinematic experience, scoring 97% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, where it received the site's Certified Fresh stamp.

"Ajami brings its audience into a world where the cultural conflict is fierce, emotions run high, yet the hopeful vision of peaceful coexistence shines through the cracks."

- Steven Rea (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Thirteen-year-old Nasri (Fouad Habash) and his older brother Omar (Shahir Kabaha) face constant fear when their family becomes a target of assassination, after their uncle foolishly wounds a prominent clan member. At the same time, and not too far away, the young Palestinian refugee Malek (Ibrahim Frege) works illegally in Israel to finance his mother's life-saving surgery. An affluent Palestinian man who dreams of building a life with his Jewish girlfriend, and a Jewish cop obsessed with finding his missing brother round out this unique multi-character piece.   
 
Directors Copti and Shani spent months auditioning locals (many of whom are from Jaffa's multi-ethnic Ajami neighborhood) and then, conducting extensive rehearsals with the cast. And cinematographer Boaz Yehonatan Yacov, who also lensed Kino's My Father, My Lord (2007), beautifully captured the spaces and street dynamics of this multi-faceted area of the world.
 
As of 2009, there are more than one million Arabs who live in (and are citizens of) Israel, and Ajami's powerful narrative reveals some of the stories and dramas of the ongoing Palestian and Israeli steps and missteps towards a peaceful coexistence.  

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