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Cannes winner ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA set for release across France
17 June 2025
Fresh off winning the Best Director Award at Cannes, Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s comedy-drama ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA is set to release in theaters across France this month, offering audiences a unique gripping narrative from the heart of Gaza.
The screenings, which will be held in the presence of one-half of the director duo Arab Nasser, will be held on the following dates:
Thursday, June 19th – Premiere in Marseille at Les Variétés
Friday, June 20th – Premiere in Toulouse at American Cosmo
Sunday, June 22nd– Premiere in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône at Utopia Stella
Monday, June 23rd – Premiere in Paris at mk2 Gambetta
Tuesday, June 24th – Premiere in Orléans
Wednesday, June 25th – Premiere in Paris at Majestic Bastille
Thursday, June 26th – Premiere in Saint-Denis at L’Ecra
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA explores the gripping story of Yahya, a young student who forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they begin peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego.
An international co-production between France, Palestine, Germany, and Portugal with Qatar and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the film boasts a stellar cast that includes Nader Abd Alhay, who is known for his role as Sami in FARAH, which is streaming now on Netflix; Ramzi Maqdisi (GHOST HUNTING, awarded Best Documentary at the Berlinale), Majd Eid (Cannes Winning title HOLY SPIDER); DOP Christophe Graillot (RIDE ABOVE) and editor Sophie Reine, who won the Best Editing Award at the César Awards for her work in THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
Directed by the Nasser Brothers from a screenplay co-written with Amer Nasser and Marie Legrand, ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA is produced by Rani Massalha and Marie Legrand from Les Films du Tambour and Muriel Merlin of Lyly Productions.
Additionally, the film was co-produced with Rise Studios (Amanda Turnbull and Ziad Srouji), Made in Palestine Project (Rashid Abdelhamid), Red Balloon Film (Dorothe Benemeier), Riva Filmproduktion (Mickael Eckelt and Lena Zimmerhackel), Ukbar Filmes (Pandora Da Cunha Telles and Pablo Iraola), and executive produced by Jordan Pioneers Multi Media & Slate Films Services (Khaled Haddad) in association with A. A. Films (Ahmed Amer), Cocoon Films (Sawsan Asfari), Radio e Televisao De Portugal, and Kometa (Edyta Janczak-Hiriart).
MAD Distribution manages the film’s distribution and sales across the Arab world, The Party Film Sales oversees international sales, while Dulac Distribution handles the French distribution rights.
Twin brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser were born in Gaza in 1988. In 2013, their short film CONDOM LEAD was selected for the Main Competition at Cannes. Their first feature film, DÉGRADÉ, also premiered as part of Cannes’ Critics’ Week. Their second feature, GAZA MON AMOUR, premiered in the Horizons Program of the Venice International Film Festival and was Palestine’s submission to the 2021 Academy Awards.
The screenings, which will be held in the presence of one-half of the director duo Arab Nasser, will be held on the following dates:
Thursday, June 19th – Premiere in Marseille at Les Variétés
Friday, June 20th – Premiere in Toulouse at American Cosmo
Sunday, June 22nd– Premiere in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône at Utopia Stella
Monday, June 23rd – Premiere in Paris at mk2 Gambetta
Tuesday, June 24th – Premiere in Orléans
Wednesday, June 25th – Premiere in Paris at Majestic Bastille
Thursday, June 26th – Premiere in Saint-Denis at L’Ecra
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA explores the gripping story of Yahya, a young student who forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they begin peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego.
An international co-production between France, Palestine, Germany, and Portugal with Qatar and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the film boasts a stellar cast that includes Nader Abd Alhay, who is known for his role as Sami in FARAH, which is streaming now on Netflix; Ramzi Maqdisi (GHOST HUNTING, awarded Best Documentary at the Berlinale), Majd Eid (Cannes Winning title HOLY SPIDER); DOP Christophe Graillot (RIDE ABOVE) and editor Sophie Reine, who won the Best Editing Award at the César Awards for her work in THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
Directed by the Nasser Brothers from a screenplay co-written with Amer Nasser and Marie Legrand, ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA is produced by Rani Massalha and Marie Legrand from Les Films du Tambour and Muriel Merlin of Lyly Productions.
Additionally, the film was co-produced with Rise Studios (Amanda Turnbull and Ziad Srouji), Made in Palestine Project (Rashid Abdelhamid), Red Balloon Film (Dorothe Benemeier), Riva Filmproduktion (Mickael Eckelt and Lena Zimmerhackel), Ukbar Filmes (Pandora Da Cunha Telles and Pablo Iraola), and executive produced by Jordan Pioneers Multi Media & Slate Films Services (Khaled Haddad) in association with A. A. Films (Ahmed Amer), Cocoon Films (Sawsan Asfari), Radio e Televisao De Portugal, and Kometa (Edyta Janczak-Hiriart).
MAD Distribution manages the film’s distribution and sales across the Arab world, The Party Film Sales oversees international sales, while Dulac Distribution handles the French distribution rights.
Twin brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser were born in Gaza in 1988. In 2013, their short film CONDOM LEAD was selected for the Main Competition at Cannes. Their first feature film, DÉGRADÉ, also premiered as part of Cannes’ Critics’ Week. Their second feature, GAZA MON AMOUR, premiered in the Horizons Program of the Venice International Film Festival and was Palestine’s submission to the 2021 Academy Awards.
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