[wzslider]By: Nevena Šarenac
The Program “Coffee with …” of Sarajevo Film Festival hosted today at the festival square in front of the National Theater the team of the Palestinian film “Omar”, actors Adam Bakri and Waleed Zuaiter, who is also the producer of the film.
The film “Omar” was presented last night at the open-air cinema hey! The film speaks about how Israel’s occupation “suffocates” the Palestinian society.
Omar, the young baker falls in love with Nadia, sister of an old friend Tarek who is the leader of the resistance movement in the occupied territories. To visit Nadia, Omar has to jump over the wall that Israeli has built in order to divide the Palestinian territories. He got arrested and his life changes.
During today’s meetings with the media and the audience, the actors conveyed the message that the film does not try to solve any political issue but it is only a reflection of the atmosphere of the local conflicts.
Zuaiter said that “Omar” symbolizes the hope through his main character, Omar, and Agent Rami is trying to break him.
Adam Bakri, who plays the role of Omar agrees with Zuaiter that “Omar” is a film about hope and says that he loves to see that the movie inspires hope in people.
Zuaiter explained that their intention was to create an entirely Palestinian film and the film is mainly funded by private donors and local companies.
“Billboards that can be seen in the film represent the irony. There are no industries in Palestine. There are small group of talented people and we are lucky if we work on two to three films a year. This is a great success for us. Hopefully it will serve as a springboard for all of us and that we can establish a studio. This is our main goal”, said Zuaiter.
On the production side, as he said, he wanted to create something in what the local people want to invest.
“We wanted to make a local movie that will touch people all around the world. The film carries out a universal message with which everyone can relate to”, explains Zuaiter.
Bakri stated that “Omar” is his first big film, and from the moment he read the script started to feel a lot of pressure. He says it is difficult to cope with the pressure, but somehow managed it.
“The film will soon be screened in Palestine, in Nazareth, and I hope that the audience response will be similar to the one in Sarajevo”, announced Bakri.
The film brings a beautiful Palestinian landscapes, the country that everyone sees through the images of war and conflict.
The actor Bakri said that this is a film about hope and how the audience can not resist.
“This is a film that inspires hope and is a call for hope”, said Bakri.
