It Must Be Heaven

Suleiman escapes from Palestine seeking an alternative homeland, only to find that Palestine is trailing behind him. The promise of a new life turns into a comedy of errors: however far he travels, from Paris to New York, something always reminds him of home. This is a comic saga exploring identity, nationality and belonging, in which Suleiman asks the fundamental question: where is the place we can truly call home?

Duration: 97
Production year: 2019
Country: Germany, Canada, France, Qatar, Palestine, Turkey
Subtitles: min Subtitles PT and EN

FIPRESCI Prize – Cannes Film Festival
Special Mention from the Jury – Cannes Film Festival

Elia Suleiman

Born in 1960 in Nazareth, Elia Suleiman lived in New York from 1981 to 1993. While in the United States, he directed his first two short films: Introduction to the End of an Argument (1990) and Homage by Assassination (1992), winning numerous awards.

In 1994, he settled down in Jerusalem, where the European Commission entrusted him with the mission of creating a Film and Media Department at Birzeit University. His essays and articles have been published in English, Arabic and French.

His first feature film, Chronicle of a Disappearance won the Best Film Prize at the 1996 Venice Film Festival. In 2002, Divine Intervention won the Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. He has been present twice at LEFFEST in 2013 and 2015.

Often compared to Tati and Keaton, Elia Suleiman handles both sobriety and the burlesque through the same poetic sense.

Original title: It Must Be Heaven

Elia Suleiman

Credits