DIRECTOR: Shai Carmeli-Pollak
STARRING: Muhammad Gazawi, Khalifa Natour, Marlene Bajali
RUNNING TIME: 1 hr 33 minutes
LANGUAGE: Arabic, Hebrew
PLOT: Twelve-year-old Khaled, a Palestinian boy, sets out to see the sea for the very first time. But at the checkpoint, Israeli authorities deny him entry. Refusing to give up, he sneaks across the border and begins a perilous journey toward the water. Meanwhile, his father, Ribhi, desperately searches for him, risking both arrest and the loss of his livelihood.
GENRE: Drama
FILMING LOCATION: Tel Aviv, Israel
To check out all previous submissions for Israel, click HERE.
STARRING: Muhammad Gazawi, Khalifa Natour, Marlene Bajali
RUNNING TIME: 1 hr 33 minutes
LANGUAGE: Arabic, Hebrew
PLOT: Twelve-year-old Khaled, a Palestinian boy, sets out to see the sea for the very first time. But at the checkpoint, Israeli authorities deny him entry. Refusing to give up, he sneaks across the border and begins a perilous journey toward the water. Meanwhile, his father, Ribhi, desperately searches for him, risking both arrest and the loss of his livelihood.
GENRE: Drama
FILMING LOCATION: Tel Aviv, Israel
To check out all previous submissions for Israel, click HERE.
FILM REVIEW:
(This review contains spoilers.)
“Excuse me, where is the sea?"
Shai Carmeli-Pollak’s The Sea begins with a simple dream: Khaled, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, wants to see the ocean for the first time in his life. That dream is shattered at an Israeli checkpoint when authorities deny him entry. But Khaled refuses to let the rejection stop him. Sneaking across the border, he sets out on a dangerous journey toward the sea. What could have been just a story of escape instead becomes a moving portrait of innocence, resilience, and the lengths a child will go to hold onto hope.
As Khaled makes his way deeper into Israel, the film captures the strangeness of his perspective. He is overwhelmed when he reaches Tel Aviv, a modern, bustling city that feels light years away from his own daily reality. The wide streets, high-rise buildings, and sheer energy of the place are dazzling, almost surreal to him. At the same time, he struggles with the practical challenges of being an outsider. Unable to speak Hebrew, every small interaction becomes a moment of risk. The contrast between his wonder and his vulnerability gives the film a powerful emotional charge.
Parallel to Khaled’s journey is his father, Ribhi, whose desperate search for his son brings a heavy emotional weight. Ribhi knows the dangers his boy faces, and in trying to find him, he risks everything including his job, his safety, even his freedom. The film balances these two threads beautifully, showing both the courage of a child determined to reach the sea and the devotion of a father who refuses to let him be lost.
The Sea is less about the physical act of reaching the water and more about what the sea represents. For Khaled, it is freedom, discovery, and the possibility of life beyond checkpoints. For Ribhi, it is a reminder of the fragile balance between survival and dignity under occupation. Together, their stories capture the longing of a people for something simple yet out of reach. The film leaves us reflecting not only on borders and barriers, but also on the universal human desire to experience the beauty of the world without restriction.
(This review contains spoilers.)
“Excuse me, where is the sea?"
Shai Carmeli-Pollak’s The Sea begins with a simple dream: Khaled, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, wants to see the ocean for the first time in his life. That dream is shattered at an Israeli checkpoint when authorities deny him entry. But Khaled refuses to let the rejection stop him. Sneaking across the border, he sets out on a dangerous journey toward the sea. What could have been just a story of escape instead becomes a moving portrait of innocence, resilience, and the lengths a child will go to hold onto hope.
As Khaled makes his way deeper into Israel, the film captures the strangeness of his perspective. He is overwhelmed when he reaches Tel Aviv, a modern, bustling city that feels light years away from his own daily reality. The wide streets, high-rise buildings, and sheer energy of the place are dazzling, almost surreal to him. At the same time, he struggles with the practical challenges of being an outsider. Unable to speak Hebrew, every small interaction becomes a moment of risk. The contrast between his wonder and his vulnerability gives the film a powerful emotional charge.
Parallel to Khaled’s journey is his father, Ribhi, whose desperate search for his son brings a heavy emotional weight. Ribhi knows the dangers his boy faces, and in trying to find him, he risks everything including his job, his safety, even his freedom. The film balances these two threads beautifully, showing both the courage of a child determined to reach the sea and the devotion of a father who refuses to let him be lost.
The Sea is less about the physical act of reaching the water and more about what the sea represents. For Khaled, it is freedom, discovery, and the possibility of life beyond checkpoints. For Ribhi, it is a reminder of the fragile balance between survival and dignity under occupation. Together, their stories capture the longing of a people for something simple yet out of reach. The film leaves us reflecting not only on borders and barriers, but also on the universal human desire to experience the beauty of the world without restriction.
