about the film
It’s 2010. Abed and Liron – a Palestinian and an Israeli teen – travel to South Africa to compete at the 2010 FIFA World Cup as part of one joint soccer team: “the Peace Team.” There, beyond the walls and checkpoints that divide them, they find family and a budding romance. But back home, the reality of becoming adults on opposite sides of occupation and escalating violence threatens to destroy everything they built.
Spanning over a decade, NO ONE I KNEW SOMEWHERE raises the ultimate question:
Can human connection transcend a century-long conflict that demands you see each other only as the enemy?
NO ONE I KNEW SOMEWHERE chronicles an extraordinary real-life story, unfolding like a teen-romcom, defying the odds of one of the world's most intractable conflicts, set against the backdrop of the world's largest sporting event.
The film spans over a decade and interweaves two powerful timelines: the euphoria of their time in South Africa and the sobering reality of becoming adults in a landscape of occupation, military barriers, and escalating tensions that gradually erodes connections forged during their escape to freedom.
Picture “Hoop Dreams” meets the real-life “She’s All That,” set against “Waltz with Bashir.”
NO ONE I KNEW SOMEWHERE explores the profound human cost of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of young people who dared to dream of a different world – one where they could live not only in peace, but as friends. What emerges is an achingly personal story beyond the headlines that examines how enmity infiltrates even the deepest personal connections. The stakes are profoundly personal yet universally resonant:
Can bonds forged in the freedom of youth survive growing up in a world at war?
Is human connection strong enough to overcome a divided world that demands you see each other only as enemies?
With Israel-Palestine dominating global consciousness and the upcoming World Cup in 2026, the timing for this deeply personal, decade-in-the-making story is now.