The Syrian Bride

The Syrian Bride is a 2004 drama-comedy directed by Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis, a co-production of France, Israel and Germany. The story is set in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the occupied Golan Heights, where a family prepares for the wedding of its youngest daughter. She is to marry a man from the Syrian side of the border whom she has never met, knowing that once she crosses over she can never return. As the wedding day approaches, the unresolved political situation and the heavily controlled frontier weigh on every family member, mixing bureaucratic obstacles with personal reckonings. Through this divided family, the film views the Arab-Israeli conflict at the level of everyday lives fractured by political borders. The film earned international critical acclaim and received awards at festivals abroad. The cast includes Hiyam Abbas, Makram Khoury and Clara Khoury.