After the CupChristopher Browne, director of "After the Cup," discusses his film with Hanna Elias, a native of Sakhnin and the director of "The Olive Harvest"

AFTER THE CUP: SONS OF SAKHNIN UNITED Opens Friday, May 28th in Los Angeles, with a special Levantine film talkback on Sunday, May 30 following the 5:10 pm  screening. Read our review.

Showtimes: Fri 5:10, 7:20 & 9:30, Sat & Sun 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:20 & 9:30, Mon: 12:50, 3:00, 5:10 & 7:20, Tue-Thu: 5:10 & 7:20

There are over 1.4 million Arabs who are citizens of Israel, facing the challenge of living in a Jewish state while maintaining their Arabic heritage. In Israel, soccer is king, and Bnei Sakhnin has become the first team from an Arab town to win the prestigious Israeli Cup- and represent Israel in European competition. Fielding Arab, Jewish and foreign-born players, owned by an Arab, and coached by a Jew, Bnei Sakhnin's success has begun to represent a symbol of coexistence, a potential bridge between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

But as Bnei Sakhnin begins its first season after their unexpected win, they know it may well be their first and last in the limelight. Underfunded, lacking experience, and with a rift brewing between the star player and the coach, they face unprecedented challenges- impossible expectations have come with their sudden success, and failure to live up to them will carry consequences both on and off the field.

AFTER THE CUP tells the story of a soccer team that couldn't create a new Middle East, but showed the world what it could look like.

Christopher BrowneDirector Christopher Browne became interested in filmmaking after working for Albert Maysles while a student at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied English and graduated in 2000. After working in a variety of production jobs around New York, he made his first feature film, the documentary a documentary called A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, about the struggles of professional bowlers after their once popular sport slips into obscurity. The movie premiered at the SXSW ‘04, film festival where it won the audience choice award. It went on to play and also played at the Tribeca Film Festival, Cinevegas, AFI, and Hawaii International Film festival among others. A League of Ordinary Gentlemen was before being acquired and distributed theatrically by Magnolia Pictures. It also aired on PBS Independent Lens and ESPN Classic. After the Cup: Sons of Sakhnin United, is his second documentary. 

Hanna EliasDirector Hanna Elias is a Palestinian filmmaker and writer from Sakhnin. His feature The Olive Harvest won the Special Jury Prize in the Cairo International Film Festival, among other awards. He worked on "Djinn," the Broadway musical about a Palestinian Muslim during the 1947 events leading up to the 1948 war. He was the dubbing director of A Journey to Mecca and director of the Bethlehem Media Center on Palestine. He wrote the feature My Aunti Fofo's Wedding, a romantic comedy about a Palestinian American who falls in love with an American woman. He is editing a documentary about the Nobel Prize laureate Naguib Mahfouz, and dubbed Gandhi the feature film into Arabic for the Arab world.