Youssef is a twelve-year-old Palestinian boy who, with violence, discord, and repression suffocating his physical world, roams freely in his fertile imagination. He meets Aida, a young Gypsy leader of a gang of kids. To win her love, he must find three lost diamonds from a family necklace brought back from South America by the girl's grandfather. His search for a means of transport to this faraway land becomes a mystical pursuit that leads him to a wise old man, a mysterious scroll, death, and resurrection. As our hero learns how real values surmount temporal realities, this modern tale releases a gentle sigh on the magic of young love. Michel Khleifi (Wedding in Galilee) depicts how natural elements and imagination liberate people from the political, religious, and military ideologies continually taking them hostage.-SFIFF '96