A discussion took place among Israelis in Berlin and Jews with Hebrew-sounding names about how to handle city Uber drivers after Oct. 7, 2023, the majority of whom are of Arabic or Turkish descent. Some Israelis, especially mothers of young children, have spoken about changing their names or avoiding speaking Hebrew on ride apps, given the distrust and fear of drivers whom they assume are pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel by default.
The film “Where To?” premiering at the Berlinale—part of the “Perspectives” section for first-time feature filmmakers—presents a way for Israelis and Palestinians to navigate the Berlin streets together.
By Israeli writer Assaf Machnes, it opens with Hassan (played by Arab-Israeli actor Ehab Salami) picking up a 20-something, good-looking party-goer, Amir (played by Ido Tako), who is making out with his blond German boyfriend. Hassan is visibly uncomfortable, but he wonders if “Amir” might be Arab. Amir himself hadn’t realized that his name is also an Arabic one.
The truth comes out, and Hassan replies that they are “neighbors.” His parents are originally from the Galilee, having survived the nakba (the “disaster” or “catastrophe” of the establishment of the modern-day State of Israel in 1948) before eventually settling in Jenin in Samaria.
Salami himself lives in the Galilean village of Rameh, giving him a layered connection to the character.
“I work in Israel. I live in Israel. Israel is an important part of my life. But inside, my culture is Palestinian,” he told JNS at the Berlinale Palast in a joint interview with Tako and Machnes.
The romantic heat in the back of the car does not lend itself to heated political discussion; actually, their conversations over the course of about two years rarely get heated at all. They continue to drive together—first by happenstance and then by choice—overcoming not only social and religious differences but nationalist ones. Hassan even goes so far as to sacrifice one night’s wages to volunteer to pick up Amir when he finds himself in a heartbroken, drunken bind.
The idea grew out of Machnes’s own ride in Berlin with a Palestinian driver, with whom he inexplicably felt “at home.” The joint Israeli-German production was selected to be developed as part of the Berlinale’s 2022 Co-Production Market.
“When you leave Israel or Palestine, you leave an idea—you don’t just leave a ‘place,’” Manches told JNS. “Because they are both out of their homeland, it becomes a narrative about people detached from their identity, whether Palestinian or Israeli.”
The most tense, even comedic, moment between Israelis and Hassan occurs when he picks up curmudgeonly Israeli tourists. They grow nervous upon noticing Hassan’s knitted Palestinian flag hanging from the rear-view mirror and surmise that Hassan is their “cousin.” Realizing that Israelis are in the back seat, Hassan’s Arabic conversation partner taunts them on speakerphone by throwing around words like jihad and Allahu Akbar—in jest.
Ultimately, however, “Where To?” is neither a decidedly Israeli story nor a Palestinian one. It is a story about seeking intercultural love in the Diaspora. Amir becomes a foil for Hassan’s reckoning with his daughter’s relationship with a German and his longing for an old Christian-Israeli flame, Sanah, whom he had followed to Berlin. The cab becomes neutral ground, a place where they can search for values beyond nationalist identity or survival.
The Berlinale itself, however, evolved into non-neutral ground, despite its leaders’ intention to remain apolitical. The Palestinian film, “Chronicles From the Siege,” co-funded by Algeria, France and Qatar, about Gazans struggling to survive under Israel’s bombardment, took home the award for the Perspectives category. Wearing a keffiyeh, the Syrian-Palestinian director Abdallah Alkhatib read his acceptance speech while his producer held the Palestinian flag.
“I’m Palestinian, so at this moment I have to speak about Palestine,” Alkhatib said, closing with: “Some people told me: ‘Maybe you have to be careful because you say what you want to say now because you’re a refugee in Germany and there are so many red lines.’ But I don’t care. I care about my people. I care about Palestine. My final words to the German government, you are partners in genocide in Gaza by Israel. I believe you are intelligent enough to recognize this truth that you choose not to care. Free Palestine from now until the end of the world.”
Such proclamations make a film like “Where To?” more like utopian wish fulfillment. Eventually, Machnes rewrote the script to include a reference to Oct. 7, but rather than damage Amir and Hassan’s relationship, the war in Gaza only deepens it. Hassan’s cab becomes a momentary refuge for the torn Amir.
These days, as the war plays out on the streets of Berlin, with militant pro-Palestinian demonstrations accusing Israel of committing genocide, Israelis are more likely to relate to the suspicious elderly couple in the film, without the comedic relief.
In preparing for the role, Tako took Uber rides in Berlin with Middle Easterners of all kinds, including Palestinians. He spoke with one who lost family in Gaza, while he shared how a friend of his had been injured in the fighting.
“There was a moment when he said, ‘I don’t blame you and the people, but the people who run everything. At the end of the day, we’re the same,” Tako said, adding that it may just be a matter of “your energy and the way you approach people. If you come with an open heart and open mind, you will be received well.”
This article is the fourth in a series exploring the Israeli entertainment industry after Oct. 7.
Part 1: The battle for Israel’s red carpet, post-Oct. 7
Part 2: How Oct. 7 changed Israeli television and cinema
Part 3: As films take sides, Berlinale insists on apolitical posture
