So close to the Middle-East Heaven! 

An Acoustic Ascension

By Haug / Guschas

We are what they are not. Israel and Palestine alternatingly emphasize their differences and contrasts. The Heavens seem divided; the vicious circle of irreconcilability seems insuperable. At the same time, they are close neighbors. Their countries share the very same sky, and together they comprise a so-called ‘political climate’.
The tension of the piece comes from people whose professional gazes are directed at the heavens and who are trying to break down the narrow earthly boundaries.

Where do their societal, cultural and religious existences – the life stories of these individuals – overlap, and who succeeds in traversing the borders? Beyond the front lines, outside of the oneness in hate and fear, this piece looks at the everyday in both countries, contrasting them with one another by asking individuals in both countries about the ties they have to the heavens. What does that say about their earthly lives?

Idea and screenplay: Thilo Guschas and Helgard Haug
Direction: Helgard Haug
Music: Frank Böhle
Editor: Joachim Dicks

With: Imad al-Atrash, Anat Berko, Abdullah Hajjir, Ofira Henig, Moran Itzckovich, Oded Kraus, Yael Kupferberg, Yossi Leshem, Ran Livne, Ariel Merari, Salwa Nakkara, Ahmed Munir Sbeih and Nizar Zuabi.
Thanks to Pinhas Alpert, Ulrich Corsmeier and Anan Al-Jayoussi.

An NDR production, co-produced with SWR, 2017

mp3 download in our online store