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International Competition · 46th Edition

Once Upon a time in Gaza

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

Director

Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser

Country

France, Palestine, Germany, Portugal, Qatar, Jordan

Runtime

1 h 27 min

Language

Arabic

Premiere

MENA premiere (Middle East and North Africa)

Synopsis

 Gaza, 2007. Yahya, a young student, forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they start peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego.  

Cast

 Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi 

Screenplay

 Amer Nasser, Marie Legrand, Tarzan Nasser, Arab Nasser 

Producers

 Rani Massalha, Muriel Merlin, Pandora da Cunha Telles, Pablo Iraola, Rashid Abdelhamid, Marie Legrand, Lena Zimmerhackel, Michael Eckelt, Dorothe Beinemeier 

About the Director

 Twin brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser were born in Gaza in 1988 and started their filmmaking careers with their Cannes-selected short CONDOM LEAD before making their first feature film, DÉGRADÉ, which premiered in the 68th Cannes’ Critics’ Week.Their second feature, GAZA MON AMOUR, premiered in the Orrizonti Section of the 77th Venice International Film Festival and was Palestine’s submission to the 93rd Academy Awards. 

Screenings

Fri 14 Nov · 18:00 – 19:27 Opera House - Grand Hall
Sat 15 Nov · 15:00 – 16:27 Zamalek Cinema 1
Thu 20 Nov · 21:00 – 22:27 Tahrir Cultural Center - Ewart Hall