Omar (DVD)

Oscar-nominated in the Foreign Film category (Palestine entry), OMAR tells the story of a sensitive young baker who is accustomed to dodging surveillance bullets when he daily crosses the separation wall to visit Nadia, his secret love. But occupied Palestine knows neither simple love nor clear-cut war. To prove himself to Nadia's family, Omar becomes a freedom fighter and must soon face painful choices about life and manhood. When he is captured after a deadly act of resistance, he falls into a cat-and-mouse game with the military police. Suspicion and betrayal begin to jeopardize all of his relationships: his longtime trust with accomplices and childhood friends deteriorates, and even Nadia begins to question his motives. His feelings quickly become as torn apart as the Palestinian landscape. But it's soon evidence that everything he does is for his love of Nadia. The four young characters are all played by newcomers and this is their first film, lending the Palestinian story authenticity and immediacy. Waleed F. Zuaiter, playing Agent Rami, is the only actor amongst the main cast that has had previous experience in front of the camera. Hany Abu-Assad directed the last Palestinian Oscar-nominated film, Paradise Now (2006) and his previous work also includes the critically-acclaimed Rana's Wedding (2002) and The Courier (2011).

*Artwork subject to change