''Let It Be Morning'' (, ) is a 2021 Palestinian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Eran Kolirin Eran Kolirin (Hebrew: ערן קולירין) (born 4 November 1973) is an Israeli screenwriter and film director. In 2004, he directed the feature-length television drama, ''The Long Journey''. His cinema directorial debut, ''The Band's Visit'' ( ...

, based on the Hebrew-language novel ''Let It Be Morning'' by Palestinian author

Sayed Kashua Sayed Kashua ( ar, سيد قشوع, he, סייד קשוע; born 1975) is a Palestinian people, Palestinian author and journalist born in Tira, Israel, known for his books and humorous columns in Hebrew and English. Biography Sayed Kashua was b ...

. It was produced by

Dori Media Dori may refer to: Places * Dori, Burkina Faso, a city ** Dori Department ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Dori ** Dori Airport * Dori River, in Afghanistan and Pakistan * Dori, Dharwad, India, a village People Given name, nickname or stage name ...

of Israel, in co-production with France's

Les Films du Poisson Les Films du Poisson is a French film production company founded in 1995 by Yael Fogiel and Laetitia Gonzalez. The company has produced more than a hundred films: features, documentaries and shorts. Many have won awards in France and around the ...

. The cast is predominately Palestinian and most of the language is Arabic. In June 2021, the film was selected to compete in the ''

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

'' section at the

2021 Cannes Film Festival The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after t ...

. The Palestinian cast opposed the classification of the film as "Israeli," and withdrew from the Cannes Film Festival in protest. Israel selected the film as its entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

94th Academy Awards The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after its u ...

Plot

''Let It Be Morning'' is the story of Sami (Alex Bakri) a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

-born Israeli citizen living in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

who is invited to his brother’s wedding. He has to return to the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

village where he grew up and which he left for other opportunities. After the wedding ends, Sami's hometown is put under a military blockade lockdown by the

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

government, without explanation. The power is cut and the villagers are trapped by an Israeli roadblock. When chaos erupts amongst the villagers who begin to run out of food and water, Sami is also cut off from the outside world and unable to return to his work in Jerusalem. Trapped in an unexpected situation, he deals with questions about his own identity. As hidden secrets are revealed, Sami watches everything he holds dear begin to fall apart. Written and directed by award-winning Israeli filmmaker

(''

The Band's Visit ''The Band's Visit'' ( he, ביקור התזמורת, Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) is a 2007 comedy-drama film, directed and written by Eran Kolirin, and starring Saleh Bakri, Ronit Elkabetz, Sasson Gabai and Uri Gavriel. It is an international co-pro ...

''), the film was adapted from the international best-selling novel of the same name by Palestinian author Sayed Kashua. ''Let It Be Morning'' is a film about a state of siege, both internal and external – centered around a man who has built a wall around his heart. It explores how that inner wall starts coming apart when a physical wall is erected around his hometown.

Cast

* Alex Bakri as Sami * Juna Suleiman as Mira * Salim Dau as Tarek * Ehab Salami as Abed *

Khalifa Natour Khalifa Natour ( ar, خليفة ناطور) is an Israeli Arab actor. Born in Qalansawe in 1965-1966, Natour attended Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts where he played Othello and Timon of Athens (among other roles) in student productions. H ...

as Mohammed * Samer Bisharat as Aziz * Yara Elham Jarrar as Lina * Izabel Ramadan as Zahera * Doraid Liddawi as Nabil * Maruan Hamdan as Adam * Arin Saba as Rola * Nadib Spadi as Ashraf

Release

The film was selected to be screened in the

section of the

74th Cannes Film Festival The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after t ...

, where it had its world premiere on 10 July 2021. The film was theatrically released in Israel by Lev Cinemas on 17 March 2022. It was released in France by Pyramide Distribution on 13 April 2022.

Cohen Media Group Charles S. Cohen (born February 8, 1952) is an American real estate developer and film distributor. Early life and education Cohen was raised in a Jewish family in Harrison, New York. He is the son of Gloria and Sherman Cohen and nephew to Eddi ...

, the US distributors of the film, released ''Let It Be Morning'' in the United States on 3 February 2023.

Reception

Davide Abbatescianni, of ''

The New Arab ''The New Arab'' or ''Al-Araby Al-Jadeed'' ( ar, العربي الجديد) is a pan-Arab news website headquartered in London. It was first launched in March 2014 as an online news website by Qatari company Fadaat Media. It went on to establis ...

'', defined it as "an enjoyable comedy," although "it occasionally suffers from some pacing issues, especially during its last third." He praised its "solid storytelling, the good acting performances and the compelling lead character."

References

External links