Omar (film)

Omar (Arabic: عمر‎, romanized: ʻUmar) is a 2013 Palestinian drama film directed by Hany Abu-Assad. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival[1] where it won the Special Jury Prize.[2] It was shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards.[4] It won Best Feature Film at the 2013 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.[5] The film was screened at the United Nations in New York on 1 May 2014.[6]

Omar
Film poster
Directed byHany Abu-Assad
Produced byHany Abu-Assad
Waleed Zuaiter
David Gerson
Written byHany Abu-Assad
StarringAdam Bakri
Waleed Zuaiter
Leem Lubany
CinematographyEhab Assal
Edited byMartin Brinkler
Eyas Salman
Release date
  • 21 May 2013 (2013-05-21) (Cannes)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryPalestine
LanguageArabic

Plot

Omar is a Palestinian baker who frequently climbs the West Bank barrier to visit his lover, Nadia, a high-school girl whom he intends to marry. Omar and his childhood friends, Tarek and Amjad, have been practising attacks on soldiers. Caught in one of his crossings, Omar is beaten and humiliated by Israeli soldiers. The three later shoot a soldier dead in a night time attack on a checkpoint, with Amjad acting as the sniper. Later, Omar and his friends are pursued by the Israeli authorities who have been tipped off about him and Omar is captured. After being tortured by an agent named Rami, Omar is tricked into incriminating himself. Facing life in prison, Omar secures his release in exchange for aiding in the detention of Tarek, whom Rami says he believes killed the soldier.

Due to his release, Omar is suspected of being a collaborator and stigmatized. Omar's situation is worsened because Nadia is Tarek's sister. Due to Omar's delays in helping with Tarek's capture, he is pursued by the Israelis and is rearrested when a planned operation is betrayed, resulting in the deaths of four militants. Other prisoners attack him as they believe he is a traitor and he makes a second deal with Rami. He confronts Amjad who admits betraying them and says that Nadia is pregnant with his child, dishonouring both of them, and that the Israelis used that to blackmail him. Omar forces Amjad to confess to Tarek, who tries to kill him. In the ensuing struggle, Tarek is killed when his gun accidentally goes off. With Rami's help, Omar and Amjad hide their involvement in his death.

Two years later, Omar visits Nadia and discovers Amjad was lying about having an affair with her but is now married to her and they have two children. She still loves Omar who also learns that Amjad did not deliver a letter she wrote to Omar before her marriage. He is visited by Rami who attempts to coerce him into killing a leading militant. Omar promises his assistance in capturing the new ringleader of the Jerusalem Brigade and promising to tell Rami who the real killer of the soldier in exchange for a gun. Omar then tells the ringleader about Amjad but gets agreement that Omar is to be the one who deals with him. Meeting Rami, with three other Israeli agents, Rami gives Omar a gun but Omar uses it to kill Rami.[7]

Cast
  • Adam Bakri as Omar
  • Eyad Hourani as Tarek
  • Samer Bisharat as Amjad
  • Waleed Zuaiter as Agent Rami
  • Leem Lubany as Nadia
  • Baher Agbariya as Prison Guard #1
  • Majd Bitar as Tarek's Friend
  • Walid Abed Elsalam as Leader at the Funeral
  • David Gerson as Prison Guard #2
  • Anna Maria Hawa as Abeer Omar's Sister
  • Laura Hawa as Nurse
  • Ihab Jadallah as Prisoner in Yard
  • Nael Kanj as Rami's Agent #1
  • Tarik Kopty as Tarek's Father
  • Adi Krayem as Soldier
  • Doraid Liddawi as Soldier
  • Eli Rezik as Prison Guard #3
  • Yousef 'Joe' Sweid as Torturer
  • Ziyad Jarjoura as Amer Omar's Brother
  • Ramzi Maqdisi as Muhsen Ali Taha

Production

Director Hany Abu-Assad describes putting together the idea of the film in one night, writing the structure of the story in four hours and writing the script in four days.[8] After a year of securing finance, filming began at the end of 2012 and took place mainly in Nazareth Nablus and the Far'a refugee camp.[9][10]

Waleed Zuaiter managed to secure the $2m budget for the film, 5% of which came from Enjaaz, the post-production fund of Dubai International Film Festival and the remainder from Palestinians.[11]

Distribution

Adopt Films acquired all U.S. rights to Omar after its premier at the Cannes Film Festival.[12] UK distribution rights was acquired by Soda Pictures[13] and distribution rights in France was sold to Pretty Pictures.[14]

Awards
Award/Festival Category Winner/Nominee Won
Academy Awards[4] Best Foreign Language Film Hany Abu-Assad Nominated
Asia Pacific Screen Awards[15] Best Feature Film Hany Abu-Assad, Waleed Zuaiter Won
Best Performance by an Actor Adam Bakri Nominated
Achievement In Cinematography Ehab Assal Nominated
Camerimage[16] The Silver Frog Prize for Best Cinematography Ehab Assal Won
Cannes Film Festival[2] Un Certain Regard Jury Prize Hany Abu-Assad, Waleed Zuaiter Won
Dubai International Film Festival[17] Muhr Arab Best Director Award Hany Abu-Assad Won
Muhr Best Film Waleed Zuaiter Won
Ghent International Film Festival[18] Youth Jury Award Best Film Hany Abu-Assad Won
Fajr International Film Festival[19] Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Direction Hany Abu-Assad Won
Tromsø International Film Festival[20] The Norwegian Peace Film Award Hany Abu-Assad Won
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See also

References
  1. "2013 Official Selection". Cannes. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  2. Richford, Rhonda (26 May 2013). "Cannes: 'The Missing Picture' Wins Un Certain Regard Prize". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  3. "Toronto film festival 2013: the full line-up". The Guardian. London. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  4. "Oscars: Main nominations 2014". BBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  5. "Asia Pacific Screen Awards Announced in Australia". Australia Network News. 13 December 2013.
  6. "Screening of Oscar-nominated feature film "Omar"". United Nations. 1 May 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  7. SCOTT, A. O. (20 November 2014). "In 'Omar,' the West Bank Is a Backdrop for Betrayal". Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  8. Tartaglione, Nancy (15 December 2013). "Foreign Language Oscar Preview A Long List Of Strong Contenders For Such a Shortlist Of Possibles Nominees". Deadline London.
  9. Ritman, Alex (3 December 2013). "Hany Abu-Assad presents a direct hit from the West Bank at DIFF". The National. Archived from the original on 10 February 2014.
  10. "AFI Fest: Hany Abu-Assad talks about making of Omar". 12 November 2013.
  11. Asfour, Nana (22 February 2014). "Omar: the Palestinian Oscar nominee made amid panic and paranoia". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  12. "Adopt Films To Distribute Palestine's Oscar Bid 'Omar'". indiewire.com. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  13. "Soda nabs London Film Festival duo". ScreenDaily. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  14. "Pretty Pictures acquires Hany Abu-Assad's Omar". Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  15. Pip Bulbeck. "Asia Pacific Screen Awards: Palestine's 'Omar' Wins Best Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  16. Tizard, Leo Barraclough,Will (22 November 2014). "'Leviathan' Wins Top Prize at Camerimage, Film Festival for Cinematographers". Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  17. Kemp, Stuart (13 December 2013). "Dubai Film Fest: Hany Abu Assad's 'Omar' Wins Top Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  18. Gent, Film Fest. "Archived: Omar - Film Fest Gent". Film Fest Gent. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  19. "PressTV". www.presstv.ir. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  20. "Here are the award winners!". 18 January 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
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