Starting with the Camera d’or (Best First Film) at Cannes last year, Ajami began to pick up prizes at festivals the world over. The accolades culminated in a nomination for the Best Foreign-Language Film at the Oscars in February. It is all too rare, unfortunately, that a film like Ajami, a beautifully-crafted human and political story, is recognised and rewarded.

Told non-chronologically and from several viewpoints, Ajami paints a multi-layered portrait of the neighbourhood in Jaffa – the Arab city glued to the tail-end of Tel Aviv – from which it takes its name. Among the half-dozen perspectives we're shown are those of Omar, a young Palestinian resident of Ajami, whose life is horribly compromised by a family feud; Dando, an Israeli policeman who is shattered by the recent disappearance of his soldier brother; and Binj, an Arab who tries to avoid the casual violence, police harassment, and seemingly inevitable racial hatred of his surroundings with his Jewish girlfriend in Tel Aviv. Culpability is not ignored in any of these strands: everyone’s a little guilty, and the total picture is a vivid one.

Scandar Copti, a Palestinian who grew up in Ajami, and co-director Yaron Shani, a Jewish Israeli filmmaker, cast local non-actor residents for the project, putting an ensemble of around 150 people through a year of role-playing and improvisation training so that they could act the film unscripted. The result is a remarkable piece of unforgettable storytelling. Please don’t miss this film.