Said Zagha’s Coyotes wears its genre influences on its sleeve.
From the opening moments of nocturnal footage, moodily lit from the back seat of Lubna’s (Maria Zreik) car, there is an unease built by an unspoken threat of violence. The noirish atmosphere of the film only adds to this sense of potential, slowly ratcheting up a tension that comes to represent the coercion and fear that Palestinian people have long felt at the hands of Israel’s forces. Said Zagha’s short drama, which premieres as part of the Orizzonti Shorts programme at Venice, deploys genre to great effect in conveying its unrelenting presence.
The story follows the aforementioned Lubna after she drops her friend, Salma (Yumna Marwan) home and then must drive home via desolate West Bank road due to a military blockade. On the way she suffers a puncture and finds herself at mercy of a man (Ali Suliman) who happens to be passing and offers to give her a lift. However, this man is not exactly what he seems, and it becomes clear that his arrival to aid Lubna in her moment of need was no coincidence.
Zagha uses the tension of this situation to create an atmosphere of anxiety that, as the director has confirmed, is intended as analogous to the situation in which many Palestinians have been living. Simone D’Arcangelo’s beautiful, shadowy nighttime photography paired with a sound design that foregrounds the dangerous predators possibly skulking in the darkness work in wonderful duet. As do Zreik and Suliman as Coyotes pushes them both towards a moment of reckoning and wonders what will a woman like Lubna do if pushed to the brink.
Director, screenplay: Said Zagha
Cast: Maria Zreik, Ali Suliman, Yumna Marwan
Producers: Myriam Sassine, Laura Jumel Co-producer: Rula Nasser Cinematography: Simone D’Arcangelo
Editing: Matthieu Taponier
Sound: Nour Halawani, Rana Eid, Florent Lavallee
Music: Amin Goudarzi
Production design: Emad Muhtasseb Production companies: Night Owls (UK), Salaud Morisset (France), The Imaginarium Films (Jordan), Saffuriya & Ma’alul Productions (Palestine)
Venue: Venice Film Festival (Orizzonti Shorts) In Arabic, Hebrew, English 20 minutes
Read more of our short film coverage over at Verdict Shorts
