Viva Palestine: ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA triumphs at Cannes with Best Director Award

Egypt Today

25-05-2025

Palestinian cinema celebrates a landmark achievement as Tarzan and Arab Nasser's comedy-drama ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA claims the prestigious Best Director award at Cannes' Un Certain Regard section, where it world premiered to resounding applause, captivating audiences and critics alike.
Commenting on this triumph, Palestinian twin directors Tarzan and Arab Nasser expressed their gratitude for the recognition and the support they received all the way through.
Following its world premiere, the film garnered widespread acclaim from critics worldwide, with Clotilde Chinnici (Loud and Clear Reviews) describing it as "Necessary and remarkable, ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA is a beautifully shot and politically significant film, especially relevant today." Meanwhile, Jonathan Romney (Screen Daily) praised its impact, stating, "This taut, succinct film should win widespread attention following its bow in Un Certain Regard."
Also, Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter described Once Upon a Time in Gaza as 'Small-scale yet broad in its implications, especially considering what's happened since October 7th,' highlighting how the film 'touchingly portrays characters doing their best in a place that grants them few options and even fewer opportunities.'
This victory marks yet another milestone for the Nasser brothers at Cannes. Their short film CONDOM LEAD was selected for the Main Competition, while their debut feature DÉGRADÉ premiered at Cannes' Critics' Week. ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA is their second feature, following GAZA MON AMOUR, which world premiered in the Venice International Film Festival's Horizons Program and was Palestine's submission to the 2021 Academy Awards.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA explores the gripping story of Yahya, a young student who forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they begin peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego.
An international co-production between France, Palestine, Germany, and Portugal with Qatar and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the film boasts a stellar cast that includes Nader Abd Alhay, who is known for his role as Sami in FARAH, which is streaming now on Netflix; Ramzi Maqdisi (GHOST HUNTING, awarded Best Documentary at the Berlinale), Majd Eid (Cannes Winning title HOLY SPIDER); DOP Christophe Graillot (RIDE ABOVE) and editor Sophie Reine, who won the Best Editing Award at the César Awards for her work in THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
Directed by the Nasser Brothers from a screenplay co-written with Amer Nasser and Marie Legrand, ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA is produced by Rani Massalha and Marie Legrand from Les Films du Tambour and Muriel Merlin of Lyly Productions.
Additionally, the film was co-produced with Rise Studios (Amanda Turnbull and Ziad Srouji), Made in Palestine Project (Rashid Abdelhamid), Red Balloon Film (Dorothe Benemeier), Riva Filmproduktion (Mickael Eckelt and Lena Zimmerhackel), Ukbar Filmes (Pandora Da Cunha Telles and Pablo Iraola), and executive produced by Jordan Pioneers Multi Media & Slate Films Services (Khaled Haddad) in association with A. A. Films (Ahmed Amer), Cocoon Films (Sawsan Asfari), Radio e Televisao De Portugal, and Kometa (Edyta Janczak-Hiriart).
MAD Distribution manages the film's distribution and sales across the Arab world, The Party Film Sales oversees international sales, while Dulac Distribution handles the French distribution rights.
Throughout its production phases, the film received support from prestigious institutions, including Aide aux Cinémas du Monde - CNC, Eurimages, Moin Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Fundo CNC-Ica De Apoio A Coproducao Franco-Portuguesa, the Doha Film Institute, the Royal Film Commission's Jordan Film Fund, and Ciclic And Région Centre-Val De Loire.