In Hot House, Romanian-Israeli documentarian Shimon Dotan takes a hard-nosed look at the social and political culture of Palestinians doing time in a high-security Israeli prison. It's an intense experience, not only for its content, but its breathless approach as Dotan explores as many angles to the Israeli-Palestinian issue as he can pack into each moment. Particularly striking is the astonishing level of access Dotan seems to have had. He interviews a wide canvas of prisoners (many of whom are serving multiple life terms) who speak openly of the reason for their incarceration (most commonly, their collaboration in suicide bombings), the inner workings of prison life and the general state of the Palestinian struggle. As a polemical backdrop, Dotan uses the 2006 Palestinian elections—a contest that saw the radical policies of Hamas gaining ground over the more moderate Fatah party. Brilliantly shot, edited and executed, Dotan's documentary accomplishes a portrait of two sides locked in a cycle of vicious, violent futility, in which the children and wives of the imprisoned suffer the most (a visitation scene is particularly wrenching to watch).  Jay Antani