Coexistence, My Ass!
Amber Fares / United States & France / 2025 / 95 min
With humor as her weapon of choice, Israeli comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi has provoked strong reactions with her mission for peace. A goal that suddenly needs to be defended like never before.
Noam Shuster Eliassi was a diplomat at the UN before becoming a comedian. Her mastery of international politics is still evident. But the fact that she was once a diplomat is less obvious in her deeply intelligent but coarse-grained (and very witty) satire of her native Israel and its longstanding oppression of Palestine. Eliassi may be a controversial figure, but her goal is to use stand-up to pave the way for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.
But after the October 7 attack and the war in Gaza, that goal suddenly seems more distant than ever. Using humor as her weapon of choice in a war that has wedged its way into every corner of the global community, the brash and energetic Eliassi must reinvent herself and her mission. ‘Coexistence, My Ass!’ follows her closely, and the result is a wildly entertaining film that isn’t afraid to take chances. Bring your sense of humor to this one.