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Photography by Phillip and Regula Kradolfer

Fish mongering is an honorable family trade. The boys catch. The girls clean. The mother sells. The father keeps the whole operation alive.

And on this set, the fish are very real.

Actors portraying a fish-selling family work in a crowded 1st-century Jerusalem marketplace during filming for The Parables Project, highlighting honor and shame culture, family trade, and reputation.

Abdiel, played by Talal Karkouti (UK) throws a fish to his wife, Tamar, played by Margareta Szabo (UK). Black gloves were worn only during rehearsal.

Baskets overflowing with them. Large fish. Small fish. Silver scales glistening beneath the Moroccan sun. All awaiting the relentless strike of the cleaver.

A smiling fish merchant in a bustling marketplace holds a basket of fresh fish during the filming of The Parables Project, illustrating daily life, family trade, and reputation in 1st-century Jerusalem.

Abdiel displays the last catch of the day.

There’s only one problem.

At the end of a sweltering day in the crowded marketplace, sisters Daniella, played by Laura Welton (Spain), and Lila, played by Elodie Wilton (UK), begin teasing each other about smelling like fish.

In 1st-century Jerusalem and Judea, reputation, honor, family standing, and public perception were central to daily life. Society operated largely on an “honor and shame” framework, where a person’s identity was deeply connected to how they were viewed by family, neighbors, and the broader community.

For young, unmarried women especially, appearance and reputation carried enormous social weight. A girl publicly mocked for smelling like fish, for example, could absolutely feel humiliated — particularly in a crowded marketplace where everyone knew each other’s business. 

For these teenage girls, the emotional stakes were high. Smelling like fish was often devastating to their desire to be seen as worthy, respectable, and desirable for marriage, especially when confronted by their friends. 

And that is exactly what happens.

The teasing escalates until Daniella impulsively hurls a fish at her sister. She misses. But the fish sails dangerously close to Eliza, who narrowly steps aside before becoming the victim of an airborne market projectile.

Two sisters argue in a fish market alley during filming for The Parables Project, capturing the emotional tension, humiliation, and social pressures surrounding reputation and marriage in 1st-century Jerusalem.

Daniella, played by Laura Wedel (Spain), prepares to launch a fish head at her sister, Lila, played by Elodie Wilton (UK).

Mortified, Daniella quickly apologizes.

But Eliza hardly notices the smell of fish. She has come with a message. A warning from the King himself. Eliza places a small parchment into the sisters’ hands.

It is one of many scenes filmed that day revealing the personalities, hopes, and hidden fears of the ten young women. But this moment does something more. It sharpens the urgency pulsing beneath the entire story.

The Bridegroom is coming.