OMAR
Director of the Golden Globe-winning Paradise Now (MIFF 2005), Hany Abu-Assad returns with another intimate take on the Israel–Palestine conflict in a film that will once again divide audiences.
Forced to scale a wall and dodge bullets just to see his girlfriend Nadia, Omar lives a life dictated by the perpetual violence in the West Bank. When his friends plan an act of retaliation against the Israeli army, the situation escalates and Omar is arrested. Pressed to inform on his friends, he feels the frustration of loyalty in the face of oppression and violence, and the bitterness of love that is thwarted by politics.
Hany Abu-Assad's humanistic approach to the ongoing violence in the occupied territories – framed through the experiences of a young man, his two friends, and the girl he loves – pulls no punches, and courageously leaves any conclusions up to the audience.
Winner of the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize at Cannes 2013.
"I had to delve into this subject; to explore how such circumstances and actions would affect love, friendship, and trust." – Hany Abu-Assad
D/S Hany Abu-Assad P Hany Abu-Assad, Waleed F Zuaiter, David Gerson Dist Madman Entertainment L Arabic, Hebrew w/English subtitles TD DCP/2013