For My Father on AllMovie

A man prepared to commit a profound act of hatred unexpectedly discovers compassion and understanding in this drama from Israeli filmmaker Dror Zahavi. Tarek (Shredi Jabarin) is an Arab man in his early twenties who left behind a promising career in soccer to join a radical terrorist group. Tarek volunteers to be a suicide bomber and travels from Tulkarem to Tel Aviv, planning to explode himself in the Carmel Market on a busy Saturday morning. However, Tarek's bomb turns out to be a dud, and he's left stranded with nowhere to go. Looking for a place to spend the night, Tarek is befriended by Katz (Shlomo Vishinsky), an aging electrician who lost his only son to fighting against the Arab states. As the day wears on, Tarek meets Keren (Hili Yalon), a woman who was raised in an ultra-Orthodox household and left her family behind in search of her own freedom. Tarek finds a kindred spirit in Keren and acceptance in Katz, forcing him to reexamine the choices that brought him to Tel Aviv in the first place. Sof Shavua Be-Tel Aviv (aka For My Father) received its North American premiere at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival.