Oscar-nominated director visits Arabian Film Days
Palestinian Hany Abu-Assad, the director best known for his depiction of suicide bombers in Paradise Now, was this year, once again, Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. This time it was the new drama thriller Omar that gave him the nomination. In April, you can meet Abu-Assad in Oslo as our special guest at Arabian Film Days.
When the Oscar statuettes were handed out earlier this year, one of the people among the tripping Oscar crowd was Hany Abu-Assad, Arabian Film Days’ guest of honour. But it isn’t just easy for a Palestinian to become nominated for the Academy Award. The last time he was nominated in the category Best Foreign Language Film, was in 2006 with the film Paradise Now. The film was originally launched by the Academy as a film from Palestine. However, after a diplomatic fight it was changed to a film from “the Palestinian Authority”.
− Being nominated is an honor and a great recognition. It is nice that the film is identified as being “from Palestine,” as it signifies that we are a sovereign nation, however it does not change the fact that we are still under occupation, Abu-Assad emphasises in an interview with Arabian Film Days.
Love under occupation
In Omar the main character, that the movie takes its title from, takes big risks to visit his secret love Nadia on the other side of the wall. But love is never supposed to be easy and during occupation regular people are put to the test and faced with impossible dilemmas.
Omar and his friends kill an Israeli soldier. As a result, Omar is given some difficult choices. Can he betray his friends to survive? Is he willing to give up his political fight to save his big love? And how much is it possible to sacrifice for freedom? These the big moral issues that are brought up in Abu-Assad’s film.
The human complexity
The complex characters in Omar and Paradise Now have made a deep impression on many viewers, but they have also provoked. Suicide bombers and double agents can be hard to swallow for the audience. But the striking thing about Abu-Assad’s characters is that they are neither demonized nor portrayed as heroes, but exposed with their full human complexity.
− In Omar, the protagonist desperately tries to protect what is most important to him, what he loves. He is trying to do good, but in doing so, he ends up destroying what he cares about the most. Yes, my characters are complex and self-destructive, but so are many people in real life, Abu-Assad says.
Not a political director
Even though Omar is a drama thriller from the West Bank, with the wall playing a central character, Abu-Assad still claims that he is not primarily a political director.
− I do not have a message in my films, Abu-Assad says. − What I want is to engage an audience, to make them invest emotionally, and to give them a reason and a space to think. Primarily, I consider my films to be honest portrayals of everyday, human drama. And if they are political, then that comes in second, he insists.
Good reviews
Omar has been well received by the Palestinian audience, which pleases Abu-Assad. The film has also been well received in Israel, even people on the right wing have liked it, the director explains. In the US and Europe, the audience has been split in opinions. Some have seen it as an optimistic and up-lifting film, while others have regarded it as depressing and discouraging, according to Abu-Assad. But what is for sure is that Abu-Assad’s films leave deep marks in the viewers.
In addition to Abu-Assad’s two Oscar-nominations, Omar also won a well-deserved jury prize in the Un Certain Regard-programme in Cannes Film Festival in 2013.
During Arabian Film Days, Omar will be screened Friday 4th of April at 6 pm, Saturday 5th of April at 7.45 pm and Sunday 6th of April at 8.45 pm. All screenings take place at Kino Victoria.
The screening of Omar and invitation of Hany Abu-Assad is a collaboration between Oslo Palestine Film Festival (OPFF), Transnational Arts Production (TRAP) and Arabian Film Days. After the Friday and Saturday screenings, Hany Abu-Assad will be present for a director’s talk.