Palestinian rappers are getting their major U.S. cinematic debut this weekend at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

Robert Redford's famous independent film festival is featuring the world premiere of "Slingshot hip hop," a long-anticipated documentary about Palestinian rappers. The New York-based filmmaker, Jackie Salloum, has been over here several times updating her footage and worked for years to bring it to thebig screen. (No word yet on its reception at the festival...)

(Below is the trailer for the film.)

Meanwhile, "Beaufort," the Israeli film about the country's (first) war in Lebanon, has a good chance of becoming an Oscar finalist.

The provocative movie (see trailer below) by Israeli director Joseph Cedar is one of nine contenders for five Best Foreign Film nominations.

Beaufort got the nod after the Academy disqualified Israel's first submission, "The Band's Visit," a popular comedy (trailer below) about an Egyptian police band that gets lost when it comes to Israel to perform.

"The Band's Visit" was knocked out because too much of the film is in English. (That's the language the Israelis and Egyptians revert to so they can talk to each other.)

Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post has a feature on Ashraf Barhoum, an Arab-Israeli actor who stars in "The Kingdom," the Hollywood action film starring Jamie Foxx about a team of FBI agents investigating a sophisticated terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia.