Palestinian Director Wins at Abu Dhabi Film Festival
Palestinian film director Elia Suleiman won one of the two top awards at the Abu Dhabi Middle East International Film Festival Saturday, for his latest release, The Time That Remains.
The film’s top spot in the festival’s Best Middle Eastern narrative film category, portrays the daily life of Palestinians living in Israel. The events of the film were reportedly inspired by the diaries of Suleiman’s father, who remained on his land during the founding of the state of Israel, and quickly became a minority in the new country.
The Nazareth-born director was also awarded Variety’s Middle East filmmaker of the year award, earning him 100,000 US dollars.
The festival had entries from across the Middle East and Southeast Asia. More than 129 films were screened throughout the festival, including 72 feature films and 57 short films.
Suleiman is best known for the 2002 tragicomedy Divine Intervention, which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The film uses short vignettes to depict the absurdities of life under occupation, both hilarious and tragic.
Ma’an News Agency