Asfur
Encyclopedia
Asfur is an Israel
i television series, which is broadcast on the channel HOT3. It tells the story of four men from Jerusalem that live in abandoned buses on a farm that Motti, one of them, inherited from his grandfather. When Motti receives a letter from city hall
informing him of an enormous debt that leaves the farm in danger of repossession
, the four do everything in their power to save it. Asfur, which literally means "bird" in Arabic, is Motti's "good luck bird" – his late grandfather believed that its arrival symbolized a positive turn of events.
Hot (Israel)
had already started working on a second season even before the television pilot
was aired. Season two began airing on October 17, 2011.
plans. Amit Peled, an insurance agent who works for his overly demanding father, accidentally discovers the zoning plans and visits the farm in order to buy it. He arrives there with his girlfriend Shir, who sees Motti and they both recall that they were romantically involved during a trip to India
.
Upon learning of the zoning plans, the four friends realize that keeping the farm is their chance of redeeming their lives. From that moment on, it becomes a race against time for them. They try every possible scheme, be it working on a taxicab
they "borrow" from the repair shop where Itzik works, laundering
the lottery Grand Prize through the black market, stealing from houses, gambling online
, selling drugs
or even committing armed robbery for a criminal lord. The season's plot mainly revolves around their adventures, as well as the intricately woven relationship between Shir and Motti, along with other romantic complications.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i television series, which is broadcast on the channel HOT3. It tells the story of four men from Jerusalem that live in abandoned buses on a farm that Motti, one of them, inherited from his grandfather. When Motti receives a letter from city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
informing him of an enormous debt that leaves the farm in danger of repossession
Repossession
Repossession is generally used to refer to a financial institution taking back an object that was either used as collateral or rented or leased in a transaction. Repossession is a "self-help" type of action in which the party having right of ownership of the property in question takes the property...
, the four do everything in their power to save it. Asfur, which literally means "bird" in Arabic, is Motti's "good luck bird" – his late grandfather believed that its arrival symbolized a positive turn of events.
Hot (Israel)
Hot (Israel)
HOT Telecommunication Systems Ltd. is a company that provides cable television, last-mile Internet access, broadband and telecommunication services in Israel. It also provides various data transmission services and network services at different rates, services to the business sector and other...
had already started working on a second season even before the television pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
was aired. Season two began airing on October 17, 2011.
Season 1 (2010)
Motti Amoyal lives on a bus farm in Jerusalem with his three best friends, Itzik, Newton and Katzar. Their lives are about to change drastically as they discover that the land, on which Motti built the farm, holds an enormous debt to city hall because of his late grandfather's past disputes over garbage dumping. The city threatens to repossess the land because of the future profit from zoningZoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
plans. Amit Peled, an insurance agent who works for his overly demanding father, accidentally discovers the zoning plans and visits the farm in order to buy it. He arrives there with his girlfriend Shir, who sees Motti and they both recall that they were romantically involved during a trip to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Upon learning of the zoning plans, the four friends realize that keeping the farm is their chance of redeeming their lives. From that moment on, it becomes a race against time for them. They try every possible scheme, be it working on a taxicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
they "borrow" from the repair shop where Itzik works, laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
the lottery Grand Prize through the black market, stealing from houses, gambling online
Online gambling
Online gambling, also known as Internet gambling and iGambling, is a general term for gambling using the Internet.-Online poker:Online poker tables commonly offer Texas hold 'em, Omaha, Seven-card stud, razz, HORSE and other game types in both tournament and ring game structures...
, selling drugs
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
or even committing armed robbery for a criminal lord. The season's plot mainly revolves around their adventures, as well as the intricately woven relationship between Shir and Motti, along with other romantic complications.
Characters
- Mordechai "Motti" Amoyal (Shalom Michaelshvili) - the leader of the group. Inherited the farm from his grandfather, now lives on it with his three best friends. During the course of the first season, he manages an on-and-off romantic relationship with Shir, whom he had previously met during a trip to India.
- Yitzhak "Itzik" Bensuli (Oz Zehavi) - a reckless womanizer, ran away from home following a confrontation with his father. When it comes to survival, Itzik is not above resorting to criminal activity.
- Ra'anan "Katzar" (Hebrew For "Short") Avital (Guy Amir) - Newton's cousin. Has a short fuse, hence the nickname.
- Morley "Newton" Avital (Hanan Savyon) - Katzar's cousin. Constantly brews various schemes, hence the nicknameIsaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
. - Shir Amber (Efrat Dor) - a lawyer at "Peled Insurance" and Amit's on-and-off girlfriend and later wife. During the course of the first season, she also manages an on-and-off romantic relationship with Motti, whom she had previously met during a trip to India.
- Amit Peled (Dan Shapiro) - Shir's on-and-off boyfriend and later husband. Works in his father's insurance company, where he maintains a harsh rivalry for the VP position with his brother-in-law, Oded. His rivalry with Motti is even harsher, as it is for both Shir's heart and the bus farm. Constantly hinders Motti's attempts to muster the money, with the help of Itay and Yuli.
- Victor (Gabi Amrani) - Motti's late grandfather.
- Itay (Amos Tamam) - Amit's best friend, a secret serviceSecret serviceA secret service describes a government agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For instance, a country may establish a secret service which has some...
agent who is after a criminal mastermind named Saragusti. - Yuli Barkai (Dana Frider) - Shir's best friend. Frequently dates different men. Despises Motti because of his social class.
- Sivan Amoyal (Gloria Bess Kopilevitz) - Motti's younger sister, an excelling student who unknowingly starts selling stolen goods to pay for a school trip to Poland because of her family's poverty.
- Ya'acov "Kobi" Sharvit (Aviv Alush) - Itzik's friend in the criminal world. Appears to be Saragusti's main henchman.
- Tavor (Or Ben-Melech) - a student in Sivan's high school who also works with Kobi. Engages Sivan in selling stolen goods and the two eventually start dating.
- Reuven Amoyal (Uri GavrielUri GavrielUri Gavriel is an Israeli actor. He works in Israeli cinema. He has won Award of the Israeli Film Academy and Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2005 as Best Actor in film "What a Wonderful Place".-Film and television credits:-External links:...
) - Sivan and Motti's father. Works as a security guard and is terrified of the probability of his children turning to crime. - Shula Amoyal (Ruby Porat-Shoval) - Sivan and Motti's mother, married to Reuven.
- Shlomo (Nathan Zehavi) - the owner of an auto repair shop where Itzik works.
- Zvulun "Zuta" Hajbi (Nevo Kimchi) - an acquaintance of the group, has a mental issueMental retardationMental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
of sorts. Wins the Grand Prize in the Israeli lottery. - Tzuf Nakdimon (Pini Tavger) - a terminally ill young gayHomosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
man, formerly an orthodox Jew. Motti helps him solve a family crisis and Tzuf returns the favor by writing a check for the debt sum.
External Links
- Official Website
- Asfur at Jinni.comJinni (search engine)Jinni is a search engine and recommendation engine for movies, TV shows and short films. The service is powered by the Movie Genome, an approach to indexing titles based on attributes like mood, tone, plot, and structure.-Description:...