By: Dale Munatswa

Award winning movie Omar-Sun, caused a serious buzz at Gateway’s Cinema Neavou.

The drama got people talking about how the situation in Palestine is analogous to that pondered by black South Africans during the apartheid era.

In the movie, Omar, a young Palestinian liberation fighter, battles through a complex life of love, betrayal and suppression. He is forced by circumstance to live away from his family and loved ones, to turn against his comrades and be an informant for the oppressors.

Faisal Suliman said that, what comes out a lot, particularly for black South Africans, is that even during apartheid whether it is in District 6 or Soweto, people were human. They had the same aspirations we now take for granted.

“The way that the media covers Palestine, we can easily forget that the Palestinians are human. We only think of this as resistance and suicide bombing and we forget that they are ordinary human beings like me during apartheid. People still love and and want to live a normal life, and that’s what I think is brought out in this movie, ” said Suliman

The dilemmas and scenarios in the movie are very realistic. It is easy for one to be hooked on the twists and turns of the life of a liberation fighter in Palestine.

Film critic Alisa Windsor,  applauded the film as one of a kind

Windsor said, ” It is extremely powerful. If a movie does not get the message across then its no use, but this movie does.”

Film is a very convenient way to pass a message to people,  especially those young at heart. Films such as Omar have to be put in the public domain to create deeper understanding of  the Israel-Palestine conflict and evoking emotions in people so that they will act.

The movie, Omar-Sun is set to hit theaters on 28 November.