Coverage of Arabs living in Israel, whether Palestinian or not, tends to focus on their hardships, but it’s not the whole picture by any means. Indeed, Oriented goes a long way to redressing that balance by sharing the untold stories of this group at home, work and play in the dynamic environs of Tel Aviv-Yafo and beyond, capturing conversations with family, heated political discussions, love affairs and attempts to dissolve prejudices set against the backdrop of the Israeli-Gaza War of 2014. The result is an engrossing and subtle portrait of contrasting personalities that takes in a poignant coming out story, the dilemmas that arise when Arabs and Jewish people date, and the complexity of claiming Palestinian identity when fellow countrymen live under occupation.

Oriented also provides a necessary counterpoint to tales of persecution and destruction that command coverage of the Middle East at a time Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and other racial prejudices are being stoked by extremists. “I feel the relevance of a white, Jewish boy depicting the lives of three gay, Palestinian men has only increased in light of neglected refugees, LGBTQ killings, Trump – and the political landscape will continue to cast new patterns and shadows on the film,” says Witzenfeld.