Palestinian Filmmakers Win Directing Award at Un Certain Regard Competition at Cannes

Alsharq Tribune - Gina Issa

Palestinian twin filmmakers Arab and Tarzan Nasser earned a directing award at the Cannes Film Festival’s second-tier Un Certain Regard competition on Friday for "Once Upon a Time in Gaza."

To everyone in Gaza, "to every single Palestinian: your lives matter and your voice matters, and soon Palestine will be free," said Tarzan Nasser, eliciting a standing ovation.

The movie follows a low-level drug dealer and his underling in the coastal enclave the year the Hamas group took over. Chilean director Diego Cespedes' first feature, "The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo," won the top prize at the Un Certain Regard competition.

This year's Un Certain Regard section, which usually focuses on more art-house fare, was particularly strong, with several promising directorial debuts from actors including Scarlett Johansson, Harris Dickinson and Kristen Stewart.

Colombian director Simon Mesa Soto's dark comedy exploring the art world, "A Poet," received the runner-up Jury Prize.

Frank Dillane, who stars in Dickinson's well-received debut about a homeless man, "Urchin," took home best performance along with Cleo Diara, who stars in Portuguese director Pedro Pinho's exploration of neo-colonialism, "I Only Rest in the Storm." The screenplay award went to British director Harry Lighton and his Alexander Skarsgard-led romance "Pillion."