Five Palestinian nuns are eating in silence somewhere in the West Bank one Friday evening when a carful of Jewish settlers crashes into the statue of the Virgin Mary outside their convent. To maintain their vows, the sisters must not speak; to keep kosher, the Jews must not use the telephone, as the Sabbath has begun. The first short film from the Arab world to be nominated for an Academy Award, ‘Ave Maria’ sees stereotypes and prejudice broken down in the name of co-operation.