Director Assaf Machnes’s debut feature, “Where To?” (‘Le’an’ in Hebrew) premiered Tuesday at the Berlinale Film Festival to an enthusiastic audience at a sold-out screening.

The comedic drama is set in Berlin as Hassan, a middle-aged Palestinian Uber driver, picks up Amir, a young Israeli new to the city and struggling with a romantic relationship. The two find a real connection during a random encounter, both strangers in a foreign country.

Over two years, the two repeatedly share rides and build an unexpected bond.

The German-Israeli co-production was screened in the Berlinale Perspectives section, dedicated to first features by emerging directors.

Some 12 films from around the world are being screened in the section, competing for the Best Debut Film award.

The film is produced by Tootim Productions, the Rogovin Brothers, Lev Cinemas, and Iconoclast Films. Co-producers include Mohammad Babai, Yonatan Pingold, and Yulia Bedouin Pingold, with support from the Israel Film Fund, ARTE/ZDF, and the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund.

The same day as the Israeli-German comedy’s premiere, more than 80 film industry figures slammed the Berlin Film Festival’s “silence” on Gaza.

The signatories to the open letter said they were “appalled” by the festival’s “institutional silence” and “dismayed” at its “involvement in censoring artists who oppose Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

Their statement came after the Berlinale’s jury president, German director Wim Wenders, answered a question on Gaza last week by saying: “We cannot really enter the field of politics.”

The festival has been hit by controversy over Gaza several times in recent years.

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