FULL SYNOPSIS
Salma Zidane (Abbass) is a Palestinian widow living on the edge of the West Bank, eking out a living from a small lemon grove on her property that abuts the fence marking the Israeli border on one side. When the Israeli defense minister moves into the house across the fence, the secret service claims the lemon grove is a threat to the minister’s safety and orders Salma to cut it down. Under the silent, sympathetic eye of the minister’s wife Mira (Rona Lipaz-Michael), Salma defies the authorities, sneaking into the shuttered grove to water and care for the trees while mounting a legal challenge with the help of attorney Ziad Daud (Ali Suliman), who is drawn to her quiet strength. As Mira’s marriage falls apart and Salma struggles to maintain control of both her land and her confusing feelings for the young lawyer, the two women form an unspoken bond from across opposite sides of the fence—a bond that may lead to an unlikely solution.
- Release date:April 17, 2009