Film about Arab-Israeli grappling with identity chosen as entry for Oscars

A film about an Arab-Israeli man forced to grapple with his identity as both Palestinian and Israeli has been chosen as Israel’s entry for best foreign film at the 2022 Oscars after sweeping the board at the Ophir Awards.

Let It Be Morning is based on a book by Sayed Kashua, one of Israel’s most prominent Israeli-Arab writers, and follows a Palestinian citizen of Israel as he tries to return home to Jerusalem after visiting the village where he grew up to attend a wedding.

When the Israeli army blocks the road back to Jerusalem, the man is forced to remain in the village and grapple with his identity as a Palestinian and citizen of Israel.

Directed by Eran Kolirin, the Jewish-Israeli film-maker who also made The Band’s Visit, the film won seven Ophir awards in total at the event hosted by the Israeli Film and Television Academy in Tel Aviv last week.