
Drama, Comic Relief, Family & Social Issues
BELLA
בלה
About the film
Yaki is a musician with a failing career who thinks he has nothing left—until he realizes his late father's "sole inheritance" is actually Bella, a rare and priceless dove with curly feathers worth a small fortune. The only problem? He accidentally gave her away. Desperate to get her back, Yaki teams up with his Palestinian childhood friend, Bilal, and their wives for a chaotic, unauthorized road trip across Israel and the West Bank. What follows is a comedy of errors: to get Bella to a high-stakes bird beauty pageant in Jerusalem on time, the group must navigate military checkpoints, accidentally ruin a wedding, and even "borrow" a getaway car from newlyweds. The film is powered by the fantastic chemistry between Elisha Banai as the frantic, slightly neurotic Yaki and Hanna Birakh as the more grounded Bilal. Alongside Jade Daiches Weeks and Aseel Farhat, the cast turns a heavy-handed conflict into a "charming and human" story where the search for a bird becomes a search for friendship. Bella is a heartfelt, funny reminder that even when things go wrong, a very expensive pigeon might be exactly what’s needed to bring people together.

CAST AND CREW
year: 2025 duration: 75 MIN language: HEBREW, ARABIC, ENGLISH, FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES directors: ZOHAR SHACHAR, JAMAL KHALAILY writers: ZOHAR SHACHAR, JAMAL KHALAILY producers: BUSTAN FILMS, THOMAS ALFANDARI, MOSHE EDERY, LEON EDERY LES FILMS DU FLEUVE, JEAN PIERRE DARDENNE, LUC DARDENNE, DELPHINE TOMSON cast: ELISHA BANAI,HANNA BIRAKH, JALAL MASARWA,JADE DAICHES WEEKS
MEET THE director
The Israeli film “Bella” (2025) was co-directed by Zohar Shachar and Jamal Khalaily. Their collaboration brings together Jewish and Palestinian perspectives, reflecting their shared interest in dialogue through cinema. The film premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival and represents a long-developed project exploring humor and coexistence in the region.

MEET THE director
The Israeli film “Bella” (2025) was co-directed by Zohar Shachar and Jamal Khalaily. Their collaboration brings together Jewish and Palestinian perspectives, reflecting their shared interest in dialogue through cinema. The film premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival and represents a long-developed project exploring humor and coexistence in the region.




