‘Once Upon a Time in Gaza' by Nasser brothers to screen four times at Cannes 2025
The film is an international co-production between France, Palestine, Germany, Portugal, Qatar and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Tarzan and Arab Nasser's latest feature, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, is set to make a notable impact at the 78th Cannes Film Festival as part of the Un Certain Regard section, with four scheduled screenings between May 19 and May 21, 2025.
The film will hold its world premiere on May 19 at 11 AM at Salle Debussy. It will continue with three additional screenings: on May 20 at 1:15 PM at Salle Bazin, again that same day at 2 PM at Cinema Aurore, and finally on May 21 at 9:15 AM at Cineum Screen X.
A dark comedy with sharp social commentary, Once Upon a Time in Gaza tells the story of Yahya, a young student who strikes up an unlikely friendship with Osama, a warm-hearted yet streetwise restaurant owner. The duo begins trafficking drugs under the cover of delivering falafel sandwiches, but soon find themselves entangled in a dangerous confrontation with a corrupt police officer whose unchecked ego threatens to unravel their operation.
This international co-production brings together the creative resources of France, Palestine, Germany, Portugal, Qatar and Jordan. The film features Nader Abd Alhay, recognised for his role in Farah on Netflix; Ramzi Maqdisi, known from the Berlinale-winning documentary Ghost Hunting; and Majd Eid, who appeared in the Cannes-winning Holy Spider. The production also boasts award-winning cinematographer Christophe Graillot (Ride Above) and editor Sophie Reine, a César Award winner for The First Day of the Rest of Your Life.
Once Upon a Time in Gaza is directed by the Nasser Brothers from a screenplay co-written with Amer Nasser and Marie Legrand. It is produced by Rani Massalha and Marie Legrand of Les Films du Tambour and Muriel Merlin of Lyly Productions. The film is also co-produced by Rise Studios (Amanda Turnbull and Ziad Srouji), Made in Palestine Project (Rashid Abdelhamid), Red Balloon Film, Riva Filmproduktion, Ukbar Filmes, and executive producers Jordan Pioneers Multi Media & Slate Films Services, along with A.A. Films, Cocoon Films, Radio e Televisão de Portugal, and Kometa.
Distribution across the Arab world is handled by MAD Distribution, with international sales managed by The Party Film Sales. Dulac Distribution oversees the film's release in France.
Throughout its development, the film received significant institutional backing, including support from Aide aux Cinémas du Monde – CNC, Eurimages, the Doha Film Institute, the Royal Film Commission – Jordan Film Fund, and several European regional funds.
The Nasser brothers, born in Gaza in 1988, are no strangers to Cannes. Their short film Condom Lead was selected for the festival's main competition in 2013. Their debut feature Dégradé premiered at Cannes Critics' Week, and their second film, Gaza Mon Amour, had its debut at the Venice International Film Festival and was Palestine's official submission to the 2021 Academy Awards.
With Once Upon a Time in Gaza, the Nasser brothers continue to elevate Palestinian cinema on the international stage, bringing a unique blend of humour, heart and harsh reality to one of the world's most prestigious film festivals.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
Evaristo wins accolades for breaking literary boundaries
Bernardine Evaristo doesn't like boundaries. For the Booker Prize-winning novelist, rules about genre, grammar or what a working-class biracial woman can achieve are all to be challenged and swept away. Evaristo was announced on Wednesday as recipient of the 100,000-pound ($135,000) Women's Prize Outstanding Contribution Award for her 'transformative impact on literature and her unwavering dedication to uplifting under-represented voices.' Evaristo, 66, received the prize both for her work to help promote women and writers of colour, and for writing that takes in poetry, a memoir and seven novels including the Booker-winning 'Girl, Woman, Other.' 'I just go wherever my imagination takes me,' she said. 'I didn't want to write the kind of novels that would take you on a predictable emotional or moral journey.' Evaristo had already explored autobiographical fiction, historical settings and alternate realities when she won the Booker in 2019 for 'Girl Woman, Other,' a polyphonic novel told from the point of view of a dozen characters, largely Black women, with widely varying ages, experiences and sexualities. She was the first woman of African heritage to be awarded the prize, which was founded in 1969 and has a reputation for transforming writers' careers. When she won, Evaristo was 60 and had been a writer for decades. She says the recognition 'came at the right time for me.' 'Maybe I wouldn't have handled it so well if I was younger,' she told The Associated Press at her London home. 'It changed my career — in terms of book sales, foreign rights, translation, the way in which I was viewed as a writer. Various other opportunities came my way. And I felt that I had the foundations to handle that.' Evaristo's house on a quiet suburban street is bright and comfortable, with wooden floors, vibrant textiles and a large wooden writing desk by the front window. Large photos of her Nigerian paternal grandparents hang on one wall. Her work often draws on her roots as the London-born child of a Nigerian father and white British mother. Like much of Evaristo's work, 'Girl, Woman, Other' eludes classification. She calls it 'fusion fiction' for its melding of poetry and prose into a novel that relishes the texture and rhythm of language. 'I kind of dispense with the rules of grammar,' she said. 'I think I have 12 full stops in the novel.' If that sounds dauntingly experimental, readers didn't think so. 'Girl, Woman, Other' has sold more than 1 million copies and was chosen as one of Barack Obama's books of the year. Evaristo traces her love of poetry to the church services of her Catholic childhood, where she soaked up the rhythms of the Bible and sermons, 'without realizing I was absorbing poetry.' When she started writing novels, the love of poetry remained, along with a desire to tell stories of the African diaspora. One of her first major successes, 'The Emperor's Babe,' is a verse novel set in Roman Britain. 'Most people think the Black history of Britain only began in the 20th century,' Evaristo said. 'I wanted to write about a Black presence in Roman Britain — because there was a Black presence in Roman Britain 1,800 years ago.' Another novel, 'Blonde Roots,' is set in an alternative historical timeline in which Africans have enslaved Europeans, and was nominated for a major science-fiction award. 'Mr Loverman,' was an attempt to move beyond cliched images of Britain's postwar Caribbean immigrants. It was recently made into a BBC television series starring Lennie James and Sharon D. Clarke. Her latest award is a one-off accolade marking the 30th anniversary of the annual Women's Prizes for English-language fiction and nonfiction. Women's Prize founder Kate Mosse said Evaristo's 'dazzling skill and imagination, and her courage to take risks and offer readers a pathway into diverse and multifarious worlds over a 40-year career made her the ideal recipient.' Evaristo, who teaches creative writing at Brunel University of London, plans to use the prize money to help other women writers through an as-yet undisclosed project. She has long been involved with projects to level the playing field for under-represented writers, and is especially proud of Complete Works, a mentoring program for poets of color that she ran for a decade. Associated Press
What's On
3 days ago
- What's On
Here's everything you can watch at Cinema Akil this June
Your box office watch at Cinema Akil this June… June is here, and with a new timetable of releases at Cinema Akil. Everyone's favourite independent arthouse cinema and the go-to spot for alternative watching is bringing a curation that's hot like the summer we're in right now – big, bold and bizarre films that will make you feel more deeply than you ever have, from heady trips to moody flicks and a mind-bending, mind-boggling sci-fi flick. With a side of heartache, of course. The program… Mickey 17 (May 16 – June 30) by Academy Award-winning Bong Joon Ho , follows a disposable employee sent on a human expedition to colonize the ice world Niflheim. After one iteration perishes, his body is regenerated with most of his memories intact, leading to a dangerous and complex journey of survival and discovery. (May 16 – June 30) by Academy Award-winning Bong Joon Ho follows a disposable employee sent on a human expedition to colonize the ice world Niflheim. After one iteration perishes, his body is regenerated with most of his memories intact, leading to a dangerous and complex journey of survival and discovery. Marcello Mio (June 01 – June 27) by Christophe HONORÉ follows Chiara, an actress who begins to embody her father, Marcello Mastroianni, in a playful and moving exploration of identity, memory, and legacy. (June 01 – June 27) by Christophe HONORÉ follows Chiara, an actress who begins to embody her father, Marcello Mastroianni, in a playful and moving exploration of identity, memory, and legacy. I am Still Here (May 30 – June 29) directed by Walter Salles, follows a mother who is forced to reinvent herself when her family's life is torn apart by an act of arbitrary violence amid the tightening grip of Brazil's military dictatorship in 1971. From Reel Palestine… To A Land Unknown (May 15 – June 30)which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival at the Director's Fortnight, tells the powerful story of two young men willing to risk everything for a brighter future. Trapped in the struggles of Athens, they hatch a dangerous plan to escape their grim reality, setting the stage for a tense journey of survival and hope. For the full schedule, visit @cinemaakil Images: Supplied > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
Khaleej Times
3 days ago
- Khaleej Times
Here's what Phil Collins learned while recording the soundtrack for 'Tarzan'
There is a reason the Tarzan soundtrack is so iconic, and it all has to do with Phil Collins. Musician and songwriter Phil Collins described the moment he realised he needed to sing all of the film's music in other languages. The singer sang in multiple different languages for the 'Tarzan' movie "Someone says, 'Excuse me, we go to 35 countries. So I'm afraid you're going to... are you going to try to sing in Spanish or Swahili?'" he recalled in the throwback clip. Before working on the Disney animated tale, Collins said he had "never ever sung anything in another language before," reported People. "So that's another plus, that's another new thing I've learned while doing this project," he added, noting that it "opened up a whole" new world to him. The old clip then shows Collins singing Strangers Like Me from the movie Tarzan in French and Spanish. Collins recorded the songs in five different languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish and English, reported People. Collins composed the soundtrack to the 1999 Disney film, which went on to win a Grammy for Best Soundtrack Album. You'll Be in My Heart bagged the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe for the same honour. The songs were written and composed by Collins, who performed alongside Glenn Close, Rosie O'Donnell and NSYNC, with an original score composed by Mark Mancina. The film, which made $448.2 million (Dh1.64 billion) worldwide, starring Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Brian Blessed, Wayne Knight, Close, and O'Donnell. In 2016, the famed musician's daughter, Lily Collins, told Harry Connick Jr. that one of her father's most recognisable songs was originally written as a lullaby for her.
