(EID MILAD LAILA, Rashid Masharawi, Palestine 2008, 75 min., Arabic/subtitles)

A former Palestinian judge (the excellent Mohamed Bakri) is forced to make a living working as a taxi driver in occupied Ramallah when the government runs out of funds to pay his wages. Set on the day of his daughter’s seventh birthday, the judge faces all kinds of obstacles on his simple mission to bring home a cake and presents. Wonderfully compelling and eye-opening in its episodic storytelling, Laila’s Birthday reveals the frustrating daily existence for an average, politically moderate citizen of Palestine. Click here to read more about the Labor Film Series.