23rd edition November 20th to 28th, 2026
23rd edition
20 to 28 November, 2026
Twin brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser were born in Gaza in 1988 and started their filmmaking careers with their short film Condom Lead, which was selected for the Festival de Cannes. They went on to make their first feature-length film, Dégradé, which premiered in La Semaine de la Critique at Cannes. Their second feature, Gaza mon amour, premiered in the Orrizonti section of the Venice International Film Festival and was Palestine’s submission to the Academy Awards. Once Upon a Time in Gaza had its premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, where it won the Best Directing Prize.
Gaza, 2007. Yahya, a young student, forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they start peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego.
Director Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser
Producer Rani Massalha, Marie Legrand, Muriel Merlin, Rashid Abdelhamid
Screenwriter Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser, Marie Legrand, Amer Nasser
Cinematographer Christophe Graillot
Production Designer Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser
Editor Sophie Reine
Sound Roland Vajs, Tim Stephan
Music Amine Bouhafa
Production Companies Les Films du Tambour, Rise Studios, Made in Palestine Project, Red Balloon Film, Riva Filmproduktion, Ukbar Filmes
International Sales Compan The Party Film Sales
Distributor MAD Distribution