A Wedding in Ramallah 2002

First came the wedding. Then came the war.

Directed by Sherine Salama

From acclaimed filmmaker Sherine Salama, the story follows a marriage between an American-based Palestinian man (Bassam Abed) and a young woman (Mariam), with a traditional village upbringing. Bassam works as a telephone repairman in Cleveland, Ohio, and returns to the West Bank town of Ramallah to find a wife. A few weeks later the two are married and we are offered unique insight into the arranged wedding. The film subsequently follows their desperate attempts to secure a visa to America for Mariam, and her resulting life in Cleveland, languishing in an apartment with no friends or support.