The Academy-Award nominated film “Omar” from director Hany Abu-Assadand the Vision Maker Film Festival open March 14 at UNL’s Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 313 N. 13th St.
Both play for one week and are not rated.
A tense, gripping thriller about betrayal, suspected and real, in the Occupied Territories. Omar (Adam Bakri) is a Palestinian baker who routinely climbs over the separation wall to meet up with his girl Nadja (Leem Lubany). By night, he’s either a freedom fighter or a terrorist-you decide-ready to risk his life to strike at the Israeli military with his childhood friends Tarek (Eyad Hourani) and Amjad (Samer Bisharat). Arrested after the killing of an Israeli soldier and tricked into an admission of guilt by association, he agrees to work as an informant. So begins a dangerous game-is he playing his Israeli handler (Waleed F. Zuaiter) or will he really betray his cause? And who can he trust on either side?
Abu-Assad has made a dynamic, action-packed drama about the insoluable moral dilemmas and tough choices facing those on the frontlines of a conflict that shows no sign of letting up. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
The VisionMaker Film Festival showcases Native-produced film and video projects that often do not get the spotlight they deserve in a crowded entertainment market. This Festival provides a forum for these productions to gain media and viewer attention. The Festival will aggregate and screen the best of not only public television productions, but feature-length and short films as well. Many of the screenings will be followed by Q&A sessions with filmmakers. The festival is presented in partnership with the Women’s Center and the Ross.
Festival passes, good for all VisionMaker screenings at the Ross, will be available at the Ross box office for $25 each. Buy 12 or more passes and get 40 percent off. Visit www.theross.org for showtimes and more information.
