In order to explore issues surrounding present-day conflicts in the Middle East, Gitai conceived an immense tableau vivant that narrates the biblical tale of Esther: the story of a people who fought back against persecution using every means at their disposal and, above all, their intelligence. The film was shot in an abandoned Haifa slum from which Algerians had been evicted. Intrusions of contemporary reality—the honking of a car horn, the passing of a jet plane—frequently puncture the film, bringing the ancient and contemporary issues into dialogue. Gitai claims that "in many ways, this is a film about memory—memories which are reflected through image and songs, through tales and music; memories stored in the songs of the Yemenite Jews who crossed the Arabian desert and reached Jerusalem about three generations ago; memories kept alive in Palestinian exile songs."