France, Palestine, Germany, Portugal / 2025 / 90min
Synopsis
Gaza, 2007. Yahya, a young student, forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they start peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego …
Festivals and AWARDS
For the first time in history, a Palestinian film has won one of the most prestigious awards in the world, the “Palme d’Or” at Cannes, for the A Certain Glance program.
Arab NASSER Arab Nasser is a Palestinian filmmaker and visual artist, born in Gaza in 1988, known for his work with his identical twin brother, Tarzan Nasser. Together, they have directed award-winning films like Degradé (2015) and Gaza mon Amour (2020). Recently, Arab Nasser won the Best Director award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard competition for their latest film, "Once Upon a Time in Gaza". Tarzan NASSER Born in the Gaza Strip in 1988, he studied art prior to delving into film despite a lack of any formal training. With his brother they directed a number of short films in their early career, with their 2013 film Condom Lead screening at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival as the first film by Gazan Palestinians ever accepted into the festival. They moved to Amman, Jordan, early in their careers due to the Blockade of the Gaza Strip. Their feature film debut, Dégradé, premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Gaza mon amour premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. It was subsequently screened at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was named the winner of the NETPAC Award for best Asian film at the festival. It was selected as the Palestinian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. Their third feature film, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard program at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where they won the Best Director prize.
