About

A gentle Palestinian comedy, Wajib explores the tension of cultural responsibility and the family connections that define us. Told over the course of one day, father Abu and son Shadi (played by real life father and son stars Mohammad and Saleh Bakri) must deliver invitations for the wedding of Amal Abu’s daughter and Shadi’s sister. No small feat as they must hand-deliver to over 300 guests. Shadi is home after an extended period living in Italy and every visit to a household is a chance to eat, drink, gossip and feel yet again inadequate that he has moved away, not yet married a nice Palestinian girl, and merely become an architect instead of a doctor. Writer-director Annemarie Jacir, crafts her story and characters with great warmth and a deft lightness of touch. The strain felt by father and son, as Palestinians navigating the Israeli city of Nazareth, is an opportunity to humorously examine the impact of culture and politics and what it means to come home. RH