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When English-Palestinian filmmaker Basil Khalil heard that he'd been nominated for an Oscar, the first thought that went through his mind was, "I will have the title of "Oscar Nominated," at least, for life!! Goodbye bad credit rating!" And the second thought? "What will I wear?"
No over-worn, old suit from his closet would do, this was a glittering once-in-a-lifetime event, requiring a couture outfit.
But lets retrace first the journey this young filmmaker's short masterpiece of cultural misunderstanding has taken, since first premiering at the Festival de Cannes last year. Ave Maria is a humor filled, brilliantly acted, beautifully shot fifteen minutes long work of art that brings together both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. By showcasing what happens when a group of Palestinian nuns who have undertaken a vow of silence, and a loud family of Israeli settlers rushing to get home before the start of the Sabbath crash into each other, the film tears down divides. And builds cultural bridges in their place.
Am I rooting for it to win the Best Short Film Live Action Academy Award tonight? You betcha. And by the end of this piece, you will be rooting for it too.
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When I caught up with Khalil, who both co-wrote and directed Ave Maria, in Dubai earlier in December, the film had just won the top prize for a short film at the Dubai International Film Festival. In the filmmaker's own words, he "was on a high." Then in early January, Khalil resigned from his job with an understanding that if on the 18th the nomination didn't come through, he'd be back doing promo videos for charities and NGOs. Thankfully, the stars were aligned.
Once nominated, there was loads to think about, because, Khalil explains, "I was the one running the Oscar campaign; we had to raise funding, pay for advertising place, book flights, hotel, make posters, DVDs, [create] a new FB banner (that was ready the night before) and upload that instantly!" Incidentally, some of the campaign funding fell through in early February, when I met Khalil again, attending Berlinale where, he explains, he "presented Ave Maria in Berlin at the Robert Bosch Stiftung who funded the film. But the high was followed by a low, when "that day I found out that one of our campaign backers pulled out their funding which was supposed to go towards an ad in the Hollywood Reporter," Khalil explains, adding, "I spend the following few days trying to patch up that gap."
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While in Berlin, he wore a lovely sweatshirt made by Jordanian brand Jobedu, featuring old Egyptian movie posters and posed in front of the iconic Bear. His attachment to the brand began, as Khalil explains, "when I saw their stall at the Dubai Film Fest selling really cool Arabic pop-art t-shirts. I will be wearing them when doing interviews in LA, as they do really cool designs and some funny slogans. I like their play on words, and their use of our cultural icons, like singer Um Kolthoum, with a modern twist."
But the main outfit for the big night was found thanks to some creative thinking on Khalil's part. Google sometimes is one's own best friend... Khalil explains,