Adam Bakri, yours truly, Joana Zuaiter and Waleed Zuaiter at DIFFThis year’s Dubai International Film Festival was phenomenal. The powers that be put on a spectacular tenth anniversary edition and opening with Hany Abu-Assad’s Omar was pure genius. And I’ll admit, I had a wonderful time catching up with the groundbreaking film’s team. Some of my favorite people in the world, including the film’s stars Adam Bakri, who plays Omar himself and will become one of the most sought after Arab stars in the cinematic firmament, and Waleed Zuaiter who plays agent Rami, the “good man with a very bad job” as Zuaiter calls his exceptional character.

Yup, that’s us and Zuaiter amazing wife Joana, all posing for a “selfie” though we used someone else’s arm and finger to get the shot. It was a day I’ll never forget!

Then came the Oscar nomination and while Omar didn’t walk away with the Best Foreign Language Award, it did break all kinds of boundaries and tore down the divide. In my book, a winner all around.

Click here for a piece on the DIFF blog and for my first, punch in the stomach thoughts on the film, check out this “review” from Cannes, where Omar premiered. N-joy!