How Long Is “Zaytoun”?

A young Palestinian refugee seeks the help of a captured Israeli Air Force pilot in gaining entry to Israel, and planting an olive tree in memory of his late father in this drama from director Eran Riklis (The Syrian Bride, Playoff). Beirut, Lebanon: 1982. Displaced from his home and stranded in the midst of a civil war, Fahed (Abdallah ElAkal) and his people live in constant fear of being invaded by Israel. Fahed spends most of his days ditching school and selling gum and cigarettes to make some extra cash. Meanwhile, PLO officers are repeatedly attempting to recruit Fahed and his friends to take up the fight against the enemy to the south. Later, when the bombs start to fall, Fahed's father is killed as the locals apprehend an Israeli Air Force pilot who ejected from his F-16 in the midst of an air raid. The pilot's name is Yoni (Stephen Dorff), and Fahed quickly makes the decision to set him free so that he can lead the young boy back to the land where his grandfather grew up -- the land now known as Israel. Once there, Fahed will plant the olive tree that his father had been raising before he was killed. Stealthily freeing the pilot in exchange for helping him gain safe passage into Israel, Fahed develops a tenuous bond with Yoni as they elude soldiers on a journey across the war-torn landscape, and attempt to overcome their differences in order to achieve a common goal.