The 2008 independent film David & Fatima sets Romeo and Juliet in Jerusalem and frames the story as a microcosm of the longstanding religious and ethnic conflicts in the region. Producer Luigi (Kari) Bian and director Alain Zaloum’s combination of  history, social commentary, and romance swings between cliché and profund. However, the narrative decisions that openly defy the original text offer an interesting perspective on the Shakespearean philosophy of fate and the inevitability of star-crossed lovers.