COEXISTENCE, MY ASS is a feature film selected for the Spokane Jewish Film Festival.
COEXISTENCE, MY ASS is a finely filmed feature documentary that caught audiences off guard, balancing laugh-out-loud moments with a serious, mind-boggling dilemma. It made the short list for an Oscar nomination. It would have been an excellent choice had it made the final cut, since it was expertly conceived and created. It pushed buttons and left audiences in silence with its final frame. “The answer is so simple…”
COEXISTENCE, MY ASS follows the life of a former U.N. peace activist as she chooses the life of a stand-up peace activist comedian. Noam Shuster Eliassi held the audience in the palm of her hand. Her routine and schtick were sharp, biting, and witty. She was raised in the best of two worlds because she is both a Palestinian and an Israeli Jew. Noam has been fluent in Hebrew and Arabic since she was a little girl, attending the Neve Shalom School for Arab and Israeli children. There she learned the true meaning of coexistence and thus began her very vocal journey. There was hope until the horrific and tragic events of October 7th. The curtain was raised on a topic that has been the elephant in the room since Israel was granted statehood.
This is a difficult film to watch, no matter which side of the senseless destruction and loss feels right. Noam made her point loud and clear. Her viral responses elicited a sold-out audience’s reactions. Film has the power to rock our foundations and give the public plenty of food for thought.
Following COEXISTENCE, MY ASS, there was an additional Q&A discussion featuring Palestinian activist and writer Sama Salaime from London on Zoom. She was extremely straightforward while sharing her personal perspective. One thing that was made very clear was that this is no laughing matter, as Jews and Palestinians face hard truths.