The Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival presents THE COUSIN. This darkly comic thriller from writer/director/star Tzahi Grad follows the relationship between a liberal-leaning Israeli actor (Grad) and his Palestinian handyman (Ala Dakka) after a neighborhood girl reports being sexually assaulted.
Official Selection of the Venice International Film Festival, THE COUSIN is an edge-of-your-seat genre-bender that is guaranteed to get audiences talking.
Grad himself will be on Skype for a post-film interview.
A well-intentioned Palestinian handyman upends the day-to-day lives of Israeli locals in this darkly comic thriller from writer/director/star Tzahi Grad.
Shortly after Fahed (Ala Fakka) arrives for his new job rehabbing a local media personality’s crumbling old studio apartment, a neighborhood teen reports being sexually assaulted. Fahed, who was seen speaking to the victim earlier that morning, is accused of the crime and taken in for questioning. Naftali (Grad), the liberal-leaning Israeli actor who hired Fahed for the job in the first place, wants to believe in his innocence. However, once the dubiousness of friends, family, and neighbors begins to wear Naftali down, his own dormant, xenophobic attitudes cloud his best intentions.
Evoking some comparisons to Jordan Peele’s 2017 hit Get Out, THE COUSIN is an edge-of-your-seat genre-bender that is guaranteed to get audiences talking.
*Students with valid ID can attend this film for free!