Rizvan Khan, a Muslim from the Borivali section of Mumbai has Asperger Syndrome. After 9/11, Rizvan is detained by authorities at LAX when his disability is interpreted as "suspicious" behavior. Rizvan then begins a journey to meet President Obama to give him one message: "My name is Khan, and I am not a terrorist."Rachel and I saw two movies at the Festival: "Mother" and "Forgotten Transports". The first is a Korean movie about how far a mother will go to protect her child. The premise is simple; Mother has one son, who is simple-minded and very sheltered. When a girl in their town is murdered, her son is accused and arrested. She then begins a search to find the true killer. The movie was good, if a bit long, and reminded me almost of a Hitchcock film. I would definitely recommend it!
The second movie was a Holocaust movie, part of a series of four films. We saw one on a group of Czech women who were deported to Estonia and then various Concentration Camps as the war progressed. The movie had some very moving images and was very informative. It focused on a small group of the deportees (there were 1000 originally) who bounded and helped each other throughout the war. There were 9 main girls and they were among the 45 to survive. (For more information: http://www.forgottentransports.com/02_films_estonia.html). After the movie, there was a short question and answer section with the director.
The movies we attended were fairly popular, none were sold out. (All the American movies sold out pretty quickly). If you want to go, I would recommend buying your tickets ahead of time, especially if the movie sounds European or American because those were by far the biggest draws.
To get the the film festival and the Baha'i Gardens, Rachel and I took the subway. It's a tiny subway with only 5 stops, but it's fast and fairly efficient. It also costs the same as a bus 6.20 NIS (Egged bus anyway, which runs in Haifa and Jerusalem) and is well worth it. Keep in mind though the subway won't run on Shabbat or holidays, so Simchat Torah the subway is closed. The second time we went to the film festival, we had to take a taxi, but we got a good deal asking for the meter and only paid 30 NIS.
While we were at the film festival, which is actually in four or five separate buildings, Rachel and I wondered around. We checked out a few shops and looked at the Tikotin, a Japanese art museum that shows films in the festival.
Also in Haifa, I went to the German colony and the beach, Hof haCarmel to be specific. The beach (the Mediterranean) was lovely. The water was nice and clear and a good temperature. The waves sucked, though some people did try and body board rather unsuccessfully. I almost got hit a few times but luckily I got used to dodging Michael (who usually tried to hit me). When you go to the beach you hear the lifeguards yelling almost nonstop in Hebrew, English, and whatever else they happen to speak. They have flags denoting where you can and cannot swim, though I had a tendency to cross them or go past them. There are also a lot of holes. I could go from being waist level to almost up to my neck by moving only a few inches. But I had a lot of fun. Also, at least at this beach, they had a gym-like playground where people exercised, doing crutches and chin ups. It was pretty funny watching them.
The German colony, at least where we went, was mainly restaurants. Haifa was really hot and Rachel and I got tired of walking after awhile. They are open on holidays and Shabbat though and there are a lot of nice shops there. Just make sure you look at the prices because some of them overcharge. Sadly, from what I saw and was told, there is no Mexican food in Haifa and they don't seem to have any Latin American food either (I asked various people and they looked at me like I was crazy).
Anyhow, here are some pictures from Haifa:
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| The subway station |
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| The beach! |
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| There's a lot of these at the beach and they also provide chairs! |
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