‘Arranged’ at American Centre

American Center weekly film screening on Tuesday discussed the theme of 'Diversity' during the month of May. 'Arranged' an emotional drama on a Jewish and a Muslim woman meet and realize that they have a lot in common will be screeened at 6 pm on May 13 at the American Center at Galle Road, Colombo 03.

Directed by Stefan C. Schaefer and Diane Crespo, this drama highlights two women of different faiths who find they're more alike than anyone expects. Staring Zoe Lister-Jones, Francis Benhamou, Laith Nakli and John Rothman in the lead roles the film was nominated for Golden Globe, another 2 awards and 15 nominations.

'Arranged' is an independent feature film produced by Cicala Filmworks and it was written by Stefan Schaefer and is based in part on the story of Yuta Silverman, an Orthodox Jewish woman from Borough Park, Brooklyn and her friendship with a young Muslim woman.

Rochel (Zoe Lister-Jones) and Nasira (Francis Benhamou) are two young women who have began teaching at a public grade school in Brooklyn, New York. Rochel is an Orthodox Jew and Nasira is a Muslim of Pakistani descent, and the students and the administrators at the school are concerned there might be friction between the two teachers. However, over the course of their first year of teaching, Rochel and Nasira discover they have far more in common than they imagined - both sometimes find themselves culturally out-of-place in 21st Century New York, and both are trying to live within the traditions of their faith while struggling with their own feelings.

The film premiered at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival, won top prizes at the Berkshire International Film Festival and the Brooklyn International Film Festival, and was picked up for distribution by New York-based Film Movement.