The film follows Rajai, who drives his Ford Transit between Ramallah and Jerusalem, and captures the roadblocks, conversations, and frustrations common to the daily lives of Palestinians under occupation.
Born in Nazareth in 1961, Abu-Assad studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, before entering the world of cinema and television as a producer.
Hany Abu-Assad -- 80', Arabic/English/Hebrew (Palestine: 2002)
Returning to his native city just months before the new millennium, filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad, captures the daily, idiosyncratic beats of Nazareth - a city both Christian and Muslim consider one of the most sacred in the world. Today, 72 percent of the inhabitants are Muslim, but most of the land is owned by Christian institutions - a situation that causes great tension. Set against the background of the riots surrounding a square that both Christians and Muslims lay claim to, Abu-Assad allows his story, NAZARETH 2000, to unfold through the eyes of two cynical, funny and wise gas station attendants who have been working at the service station for decades. Their comments on the political and social conditions of their city paint both a tragic and subtle image of its inhabitants.
Born in Nazareth in 1961, Abu-Assad studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, before entering the world of cinema and television as a producer.
Hany Abu-Assad -- 55' (Palestine/Netherlands: 2001)
Paradise Now is the story of two young Palestinian men as they embark upon what may be the last 48 hours of their lives. On a typical day in the West Bank city of Nablus , where daily life grinds on amidst crushing poverty and the occasional rocket blast, we meet two childhood best friends, Saïd (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman), who pass time drinking tea, smoking a hookah, and working dead-end menial jobs as auto mechanics.
Saïd's day takes a turn for the better when a beautiful young woman named Suha (Lubna Azabal) brings her car in for repairs. From their spirited interaction, it is apparent that there is a budding romance growing between them.
Saïd is approached by middle-aged Jamal (Amer Hlehel), a point man for an unnamed Palestinian organization , who informs Saïd that he and Khaled have been chosen to carry out a strike in Tel Aviv. They have been chosen for this mission as a team, because each had ex press ed a wish that if either is to die a martyr, the other would want to die alongside his best friend.
Saïd and Khaled have been preparing for this moment for most of their lives. They spend a last night at home -- although they must keep their impending mission secret even from their families. During the night Saïd sneaks off to see Suha one last time. Suha's moderate views, having been educated in Europe, and Saïd's burgeoning conflicted conscience cause him to stop short of explaining why he has come to say good-bye.
The following day, Saïd and Khaled are lead to a hole in the fence that surrounds Nablus, where they are to meet a driver who will take them to Tel Aviv. But here the plan goes wrong, and Saïd and Khaled are separated.
Born in Nazareth in 1961, Abu-Assad studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, before entering the world of cinema and television as a producer.
Hany Abu-Assad -- 90’, Arabic/English (Palestine/Germany/France/Netherlands/Israel: 2005)
Born in Nazareth in 1961, Abu-Assad studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, before entering the world of cinema and television as a producer.
Hany Abu-Assad -- 90’, Arabic/English (Palestine/Germany/France/Netherlands/Israel: 2005)
Jackie Salloum -- (United States: 2005)
Rana, a young Palestinian woman sneaks out of her father's house at daybreak. It is the day she is set to go with her father to Egypt, but she doesn't want to leave. She wants to stay in Jerusalem with her boyfriend and does not want to marry any of the men her father has selected. She wanders through East Jerusalem and Ramallah, looking for her true love, Khalil. Upon finding him she tries to organize the wedding and convince her father to give his consent. For this is in her view the only way to remain here. While the people of East Jerusalem and Ramallah are living under oppression and occupation, while abnormal things like roadblocks and barriers, soldiers and guns are becoming the reality of everyday life, normal things like love or a wedding become fiction.
Born in Nazareth in 1961, Abu-Assad studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, before entering the world of cinema and television as a producer.
Hany Abu-Assad -- 87’, Arabic with English Subtitles (Palestine: 2002)
