Adopt Films Occupy Another Place in Foreign Oscar Race; Arrest Hany Abu-Assad’s “Omar”

Currently on a foreign film buying binge, Deadline reports that Adopt Films have added Hany Abu-Assad’s latest to a slate that includes Martin Provost Violette and Yuval Adler’s Bethlehem. Omar, which we thought was muddled by the one too many twists in plot is perhaps what one might get when they mix Abu-Assad’s polarizing and paralyzing Paradise Now, with the genre film The Courier which is sandwiched by the two. We can expect the Cannes’ Un Certain Regard winning (Jury Prize) drama to hit theaters next year.

Gist: The story follows young Palestinian baker Omar (Adam Bakri), whose loyalty to family and country are complicated by his love for a beautiful young student.

Worth Noting: Preemed in Cannes, this was shown at TIFF and NYFF.

Do We Care?: No without its merits, Omar has managed to gather a strong critical support base and as Palestine’s Academy Award reps, should paradoxically join the very strong Bethlehem (from Israel) in reaching the first cut in the nomination process.