Archive of films Omar / Omar

Palestine
2013, 97 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2013

The occupied Palestinian territories. Three young men, friends from childhood, and a young woman attempt to gain control over their lives and, at the same time, decide to fight to free their homeland. The gifted Palestinian director’s film, vaguely reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at this year’s Cannes IFF.

Synopsis

Despite the risks and flying bullets, young Omar regularly climbs the huge wall dividing Palestine to visit his secret love Nadia. Nadia doesn’t know that Omar and her militant brother Tarek are fighters for Palestinian liberation, as is another childhood friend Amjad, who is also in love with her. After a lethal attack that the young men launch as an act of resistance, Omar is captured and becomes an unwilling participant in a game of cat and mouse with the military police. This Arab variation on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is an unforgiving reminder that the road to hell can be paved with good intentions. Omar must not only make important decisions in life, but must also struggle with his views and opinions and become a man. A raw and realistic story vividly told in a dynamic directorial style using authentic performances. Shot by the talented Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad, Omar was successfully screened as part of Un Certain Regard at this year’s festival in Cannes.

About the director

Hany Abu-Assad (b. 1961, Nazareth, Israel) is a Palestinian screenwriter, director and producer who studied aerodynamics in the Netherlands, where he spent several years working as an airplane engineer. In 1990 he founded Ayloul Film Productions, and in 1992 he shot his first short film Paper House. After several documentaries about multicultural issues in Europe and the Middle East, and his feature-length debut The Fourteenth Chick (Het 14e kippetje, 1998), he garnered attention with his second feature film Rana’s Wedding (Al qods fee yom akhar, 2002). He then gained further recognition with the political drama Paradise Now (2004), which won the Blue Angel for Best European Film at the 2005 Berlinale. Paradise Now and Ford Transit (2002) were previously shown in Karlovy Vary.

Contacts

The Match Factory
Domstrasse 60, 50668, Cologne
Germany
Tel: +49 221 539 7090
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.the-match-factory.com

Aerofilms
Milady Horákové 383/79, 170 00, Praha 7
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 224 947 566
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.aerofilms.cz

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About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Another View

Director:	Hany Abu-Assad
Screenplay:	Hany Abu-Assad
Dir. of Photography:	Ehab Assal
Editor:	Martin Brinkler, Eyas Salman
Producer:	Hany Abu-Assad, Waleed F. Zuaiter, David Gerson
Production:	ZBROS
Cast:	Adam Bakri, Leem Lubany, Waleed F. Zuaiter, Samer Bisharat, Eyad Hourani
Contact:	The Match Factory, Aerofilms
Distributor:	Aerofilms

Guests

Ivo Andrle

Distributor

Brigitte Suárez

Sales Agent