Hany Abu-Assad

Early life

Abu-Assad was born into a Palestinian family on 11 October 1961 in Nazareth. He holds Israeli citizenship, but identifies as a Palestinian from Palestine. In 1981, he immigrated to the Netherlands, where he studied aerodynamics in Haarlem and worked as an airplane engineer for several years. He also holds Dutch citizenship.

He was inspired to pursue a career in cinema after watching a film by Palestinian filmmaker Michel Khleifi. Abu-Assad initially started as a television producer working on commissions for Channel 4 and the BBC. He co-founded Ayloul Film Productions in 1990 with Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi.

Film career

Abu-Assad's Palestinian identity and the struggle for justice are central to his body of work, but his journey in the world of film began in the Netherlands. He wrote and directed his first short film, Paper House in 1992 for NOS Dutch television. It depicted the efforts of a young Palestinian boy to build a dreamhouse after his own family home had been destroyed, and won several international film festival awards.

The first feature film he directed was in Dutch, Het 14de kippetje (The Fourteenth Chick), in 1998. He co-wrote the script based on a story by writer Arnon Grunberg.

He went on to direct two documentaries focused on his native Palestine: Nazareth 2000 (2000) for Dutch TV and Ford Transit (2002). The latter, which blurred the lines between documentary and fiction, won several awards at human rights and international film festivals, including the Jury Prize at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. It followed a Palestinian taxi driver picking up passengers between checkpoints in the West Bank, including Hanan Ashrawi. Abu-Assad went on to direct the feature film, Rana's Wedding (2002), produced as a Dutch-Palestinian collaboration & filmed in Ramallah and Jerusalem. It won several awards at international film festivals for best film & actress (Clara Khoury).

In 2006, his film Paradise Now won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and received an Oscar-nomination in the same category. It was the first time a film submitted by Palestine for Best International Feature Film was nominated at the Oscars. In 2005 Paradise Now won the Golden Calf for Best Feature Film at the Netherlands Film Festival.

His 2013 film Omar was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize. In 2014, Omar was the Palestinian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, and was nominated for the award. He is the only Palestinian director to achieved this distinction, and twice. The film also won the award for Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

In 2014, Abu-Assad was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In 2018, Abu-Assad joined the film jury for ShortCutz Amsterdam, an annual film festival promoting short films in Amsterdam.

Filmography

• Paper House (1992, short film) - Director
• Curfew (1993) - Producer
• The 13th (1997, short film) - Director
• The Fourteenth Chick (1998) - Director
• Rana's Wedding (2002) - Director
• Paradise Now (2005) - Director
• The Courier (2012) - Director
• Omar (2013)
• The Idol (2015)
• The Mountain Between Us (2017)
• Huda's Salon (2021)

Documentaries

• Dar 0 Dour (1990) - Producer
• Long Days in Gaza (1991) - Producer
• De Arabieren van 2001 (1999) - Director
• Het Spijkerkwartier (2000) - Director
• Nazareth 2000 (2000) - Director
• Ford Transit (2002) - Director

References

References

1. Kamin, Debra. (December 17, 2011). "Palestinian filmmakers long for home". Variety.
2. Hofstein, Avner. (February 3, 2006). "Oscar nominee: People hate Israelis for a reason". Ynet.
3. (January 16, 2014). "Palestinian movie, partly filmed in Israel, gets Oscar Nod". Times of Israel.
4. (20 February 2006). "Hij wil gaan en hij gaat ook". [[NRC Handelsblad]].
5. "Hany Abu-Assad".
6. Wil Barlow. (May 25, 2016). "The Idol and the Power of Art". Interview Magazine.
7. "Hany Abu-Assad - Biography".
8. "Ford Transit". Jewish Film Institute.
9. Maureen Clare Murphy. (May 2004). "Film Review:Ford Transit". Electronic Intifada.
10. "Paradise Now".
11. (5 March 2006). "The 78th Academy Awards".
12. (April 30, 2013). "2013 Official Selection". Cannes.
13. Richford, Rhonda. (26 May 2013). "Cannes: 'The Missing Picture' Wins Un Certain Regard Prize". Hollywood Reporter.
14. (2 March 2014). "The 86th Academy Awards".
15. "Omar".
16. Kay, Jeremy. (June 26, 2014). "Academy invites 271 people to join". Screen Daily.
17. "Sisters en Nightshade grote kanshebbers Shortcutz Annual Awards".
18. (December 6, 2018). "Shortcutz Amsterdam". kriterion.nl.