Hany Abu-Assad made history seven years ago when he became the first Palestinian director shortlisted for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. After some debate over whether it would be credited as representing "Palestine" or "The Palestinian Authority", the Academy settled on "The Palestinian Territories" – and although the film, Paradise Now, didn't scoop the prize, it did pick up a Golden Globe in the same category.
Now, Abu-Assad, who was born in Nazareth and has lived in the Netherlands since the 1980s, has a second shot at winning one of Hollywood's most sought-after statuettes. Among the 76 films that were submitted to the longlist for the 2014 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, his latest movie, Omar, was chosen as Palestine's contender. It had already won the Special Jury Prize in its category at Cannes and went on to pick up Best Film and Best Director at the Dubai International Film Festival's Muhr Awards just a few weeks ago.
Omar tells the story of a young, loved-up Palestinian who plots with his two best friends to shoot an Israeli soldier and ends up being captured and convinced by an Israeli spy to inform on them. Strangely enough, Israel's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Bethlehem, directed and co-written by the first-timer Yuval Adler, also tracks the relationship between an Israeli military officer and a Palestinian informant.
Although it won Best Film in its category at Venice, Bethlehem didn't make it through to the second stage of the Oscar race; Omar was among the nine films that did. After the announcement in late December, Abu-Assad told The Times of Israel that he was surprised that both weren't chosen. "It's a good movie," he said of Bethlehem. "I'm not happy with it politically, but politics shouldn't decide whether a movie is good or not."
At this point, there's good news and bad for Abu-Assad's chances of coming out on top. The good is that – unlike last year, when Michael Haneke's Amour was a clear front-runner, with dozens of film festival trophies already bestowed on it pre-Oscars – there's no one film that's dominating the conversation. (The acclaimed French movie Blue Is the Warmest Colour won't be eligible until 2015, because of its late release date in France.)
The bad is that there are plenty of other strong contenders. Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty (Italy) has been repeatedly compared with Federico Fellini's best work by critics and won Best Film, Director, Actor and Editor at the European Film Awards. The Hunt (Denmark) by the Dogme 95 co-founder Thomas Vinterberg, has a weapon in the form of its lead actor, Mads Mikkelsen, whom panel judges will recognise as the eponymous anti-hero of the NBC TV show Hannibal. Mikkelsen has already won Best Actor for The Hunt at Cannes.
Then there's The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium), which won Best Screenplay and Actress awards at Tribeca and features a charismatic, bluegrass-playing husband and wife; and The Grandmaster, by the Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-wai, who previously made the internationally adored Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love. Others on the list come from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Germany and Cambodia.
In a strong year for Middle Eastern film, what's surprising is that Omar doesn't have any competition from movies made closer to home. Two films that were expected to make it onto the preliminary shortlist were The Past (Iran) by Asghar Farhadi, who won an Academy Award for A Separation in 2012, and Wadjda (Saudi Arabia) by Haifaa Al Mansour, which has generated an extraordinary amount of buzz in the US for a foreign language film. Omar is the sole remaining Middle Eastern (and Arabic-language) nominee in a European-dominated shortlist.
This shortlist will be whittled down further by a panel, to five, on January 16, when it will be handed over to Academy members to vote on, with the winner announced at the Oscars ceremony on March 2. If Omar makes it through, it will be the first Palestinian entry to do so since Abu-Assad's last film, Paradise Now.
In previous years, members of the Academy had to watch all five films in a theatre to cast a vote: this year, they are being sent screeners to watch at home, which is making some participants anxious. There’s nothing to stop a member watching only one or two of the films and ticking the ballot anyway. It’s a move that may skew the results towards films that are better publicised or that feature famous stars.
"I know it's just one big casino," Abu-Assad told The Times of Israel, admitting that he was already nervous about the result. "I wish I could close my eyes and just wake up and it's finished."
artslife@thenational.ae
BMW M5 specs
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Scores
Day 2
New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227
New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
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Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
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Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
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We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
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Our family matters legal consultant
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The specs
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
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- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
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- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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Power: 819hp
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pakistan Test squad
Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.