New film by Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin Whether it’s in the morning had a controversial festival launch in Cannes in July after its predominantly Palestinian cast led by Alex Bakri, Juna Suleiman and Salim Daw refused to attend the world premiere on Un Certain Regard.

They explained in a collective statement that their non-appearance was intended to highlight the “decades-long colonial campaign of ethnic cleansing… against the Palestinian people” and the “latest wave of violence and dispossession”.

Three months later, in an unexpected turn of events, the production is now one of the favorites to be Israel’s submission in the Best International Film category at the Oscars, with the full backing of the cast.

At the end of August, he was tied at the nomination stage with that of Avi Nesher. Victory image for the Israeli Film and Television Academy’s annual Ophir Awards with 15 nominations each, ahead of the ceremony on October 6. The winner for best film at the Ophirs has traditionally been Israel’s submission in the category of best international film.

Other candidates include that of Dani Rosenberg The death of cinema and my father too, with nine nominations; Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes Nadav Lapid Ahed’s knee, with eight; and the animated feature film by Gidi Dar Legend of destruction, with seven.

Adapted from the 2006 novel by famous Palestinian writer Sayed Kashua, comedy-drama Whether it’s in the morning revolves around a Palestinian village in Israel near Jerusalem, which is suddenly cut off from the city by an unexplained military roadblock.

Its tropes of social drama and touches of absurd humor highlight the reality of Israel’s 1.9 million Palestinian citizens, who make up about 21 percent of the 9.3 million population.

The primarily Arabic-language work is produced by Israeli mainstream film and television company Dori Media in co-production with Les Films du Poisson in France, with support from the Israeli Film Fund and the Center National du Cinéma Français (CNC) . The Match Factory handles international sales.

As the academy’s voting process to decide on Ophir’s winners began this week (September 27 to October 1), the film received new momentum when it won the awards at the International Film Festival of Haifa last Sunday (September 26), winning the award for best film and screenplay for Kolirin and best actor in a supporting role for Ehab Elias Salami.

Dramatic comedy by Kolirin in 2007 The group’s visit was previously selected to represent Israel in the old foreign language category, but was rejected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences because more than 50% of the dialogues were in English. The director hopes things turn out differently this time around.

“Every movie that I make, I want it to go as far as possible,” he said. International Screen. “This specific movie has a certain spirit that, on a very simple level, could touch people’s hearts, especially after these two years of global shutdown that we’ve all been through. He takes this idea of ​​siege and closure to another level, from the very personal to the very political to the very personal. It is in his time.

The Haifa victories followed a crowded Israeli premiere at the festival on Friday evening (September 24) with a mixed Israeli and Palestinian audience in the presence of most of the cast, with lead actor Bakri, who is the nephew of famous Palestinian actor Mohammad Bakri , flying from his current home in Germany.

Kolirin, who adapted Kashua’s novel with the writer’s full support, acknowledges that the film and its Oscar promotion will likely spark debate, especially around identity issues inherent in its screenplay and production. , but sees it as an integral part of cinema. .

“It’s a very unique type of collaboration. I’m happy if people ask questions. That’s what cinema is for, ”he says.