“The best new film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a dark comedy about Ramallah’s mayor… offers a striking new perspective on that struggle, with a personal
on-the-ground quality matched by grand tonal ambitions that makes it the
best of its subgenre.”
— Eric Kohn, Indiewire
“Extraordinary…Infuriating and heartbreaking.”
— Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post “
“Thoughtful and gripping…There are whiffs of Veep-like humor throughout.”
— Alissa Wilkinson, Vox
THIS FEBRUARY, FILM MOVEMENT PRESENTS ONE OF THE
BEST REVIEWED DOCUMENTARIES OF THE YEAR – AN
ENGROSSING AND DARKLY FUNNY POLITICAL PORTRAIT
FOLLOWING THE MAYOR OF RAMALLAH
MAYOR
Street Date: February 16, 2021
DVD/Digital: $24.95
A New York Times and IndieWire Critic’s Pick and Winner of the Grand Jury Prize
at the 2020 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Bonus Features Include
Commentary by Director David Osit and Deleted Scenes
SYNOPSIS
MAYOR, from filmmaker David Osit, is a real-life political saga following Musa Hadid, the liberal Christian mayor of Ramallah, during his second term in office. Surrounded on all sides by Israeli settlements and soldiers, most people in Ramallah will never have the chance to travel more than a few miles outside their home, which is why Mayor Hadid is determined to make the city a beautiful and dignified place to live. His immediate goals: repaving the sidewalks, planning the town’s neon-bright Christmas celebrations, mulling “city branding” slogans with his aides in an effort to boost tourism…or dodging gunfire from an Israeli army fracas. His ultimate mission: to end the occupation of Palestine. Rich with detailed observation and a surprising amount of humor, MAYOR offers a portrait of dignity amidst the madness and absurdity of endless occupation while posing a question: how do you run a city when you don’t have a country?
An Official Selection at Hot Docs, the True/False Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival, MAYOR won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2020 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the NEXT:WAVE Award at CPH:DOX and was included in DOC NYC’s 2020 “Winner’s Circle.”
BONUS FEATURES
- Commentary by Director David Osit
- Deleted Scenes
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type: DVD/Digital
Running Time: 89 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 Widescreen
Audio: 5.1 Surround Sound / 2.0 Stereo
Language: English, Arabic with English Subtitles
About Film Movement
Founded in 2002, Film Movement is a North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films based in New York City. It has released more than 250 feature films and shorts culled from prestigious film festivals worldwide including the Oscar-nominated films Theeb (2016) and Corpus Christi (2020). Film Movement’s theatrical releases include American independent films, documentaries, and foreign art house titles. Its catalog includes titles by directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Maren Ade, Jessica Hausner, Andrei Konchalovsky, Andrzej Wajda, Diane Kurys, Ciro Guerra and Melanie Laurent. In 2015, Film Movement launched its reissue label Film Movement Classics, featuring new restorations released theatrically as well as on Blu-ray and DVD, including films by such noted directors as Eric Rohmer, Peter Greenaway, Bille August, Marleen Gorris, Takeshi Kitano, Arturo Ripstein, King Hu, Sergio Corbucci, Ettore Scola and Luchino Visconti. For more information, please visit www.filmmovement.com. Visit www.filmmovementplus.com for more information about Film Movement Plus, the new subscription streaming service from Film Movement.
