THIRST aka ATASH

Year: 2004
UK: Axiom Films
Cast: Hussein Yassin Mahajne, Amal Bweerat, Roba Blal, Jamila Abu Hussein, Ahmad Abed El G'ani
Director: Tawfik Abu Wael
Countries: Israel / Palastine
Language: Arabic
UK: 110 mins
UK Certificate: 12A contains one use of strong language
UK Release Date: 25 November 2005
UK Distributor

Synopsis

It has been 10 years since Abu Shukri (Hussein Yassin Mahajne) and his family, have settled in an isolated valley, in the middle of nowhere, far away from their hometown. Completely independent, they live on charcoal they produce. Only the father and the son are in contact with the outside world. The father goes to the village to sell the charcoal whereas the son runs off to the village school. The mother and her two daughters incessantly burn wood.

Abu Shukri, the father, brought them to this place against their will and they know that the reason why they left the village is also the reason why they can never return.

The father decides to build a pipeline to bring fresh water to their rustic home. The women are suspicious and the son doesn't care but the running water awakens their instinct of freedom and marks the beginning of the family's explosive tragic downfall.