Omar

Omar is an intense thriller about friendship, violence, and occupation in the occupied West Bank. Omar is frustrated by the daily humiliations of occupation, and decides to kill a solider together with his two friends, Tareq and Amjad. They succeed, but Omar gets caught. The only way he can escape prison is by betraying his own friends. Omar is a mix between a Romeo and Juliet-story under occupation, a psychological drama and a coming-of-age story. The director neither condemns nor approves the actions of the protagonists, but shows how young Palestinians under occupation are presented with impossible choices with no easy escape. ktk

Hany Abu Assad (b. 1961) is one of the Arab world's most renowned directors. His previous film, Paradise Now (2005) was hailed a masterpiece by critics worldwide, and nominated for an Oscar. Abu Assad now returns with Omar, which won the Special Jury award in the Un Certain Regard programme during the film festival in Cannes, and it also received an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film. He has also directed Ranas Wedding (2002).