Paradise Now

SYNOPSIS

“Paradise Now” follows the final 48 hours in the lives of two young suicide bombers in the West Bank.
By avoiding polemics and overhasty allocations of blame the film opens up a new, immediate and human perspective on the conflict in the Middle East.
All footage was shot on location at the original sites in the occupied territories in Palestine and Israel.

DIRECTOR

Biography Hany Abu-Assad
Hany Abu-Assad was born in Nazareth, Israel in 1961 and immigrated to the Netherlands in 1980. After having studied aerodynamics in Haarlem, he worked as an airplane engineer in the Netherlands for several years. Abu-Assad entered the world of cinema and television as a producer. He formed Ayloul Film Productions in 1990.
In 1998 he directed his first film, Het 14de kippetje (The Fourteenth Chick), from a script by writer Arnon Grunberg. Later films include the documentary Nazareth 2000 (2000) and the feature film Rana’s Wedding (2002).
In 2006 his film Paradise Now won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and it received an Oscar-nomination in the same category, among many other prizes.

CREDITS

CAST:

Said – Kais Nashif
Khaled – Ali Suliman
Suha – Lubna Azabal
Said’s mother – Hiam Abbas

CREW:

Screenwriter and director: Hany Abu-Assad
DoP: Antoine Héberlé
Editor: Sandor Vos

PRDOUCTION:

Augustus Film, Amsterdam
Razor Film, Berlin
Lumen Film, Paris
Lama Film, Tel Aviv
Arte Cinema

FUNDING:

The Dutch Film Fund, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Eurimages, Media i2i, The Sundance Institute, World Cinema Fund

PRESS & SALES

WORLD SALES:

Celluloid Dreams

GERMAN DISTRIBUTOR:

Constantin Film

US DISTRIBUTOR:

Warner International

AWARDS & FESTIVALS

Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film 2006
Winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film, Santa Monica 2006
Winner of the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Film 2006
Winner of the European Screenwriter Award, Berlin 2005
Winner of the Blue Angel Award for Best European Film, Berlinale 2005
Winner of the Amnesty International Award, Berlinale 2005
Winner of the Berliner Morgenpost Audience Award, Berlinale 2005
Winner of the US National Board of Reviews Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2005
Winner of the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Ass. Award for Best Foreign Lang. Film 2005
Winner of the Netherlands Film Award for Best Film and Best Editing 2005
Winner of Best Director, Durban 2005
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, 78th Academy Awards (Oscar) 2006
Nominated for the German Film Award for Best Feature Film, German Film Academy 2006
Nominated for the German Film Award for Best Script, German Film Academy 2006
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, Broad. Film Critics Association 2006
Nominated for the Golden Bear, Berlinale 2005
Nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay, Netherlands Film Festival 2005