Elia Suleiman’s signatures and cinematic language as an Auteur in contemporary Palestinian cinema
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Abstract
Through an analysis of the cinematic language and recurring elements of Elia Suleiman’s cinema under the auteur theory, it can be argued that Suleiman is a true auteur whose cinema exhibits many authorial signatures: black comedy, nonlinearity and repetition, a distinctive editing style, a fixed camera, silence, Self-reflexivity and a symmetrical frame. Furthermore, the primary theme of his works is the portrayal of socio-political circumstances surrounding issues of identity and displacement. Suleiman is a Palestinian filmmaker of international renown whose films have captivated audiences internationally and become universal. He has received critical acclaim from numerous worldwide critics and has been nominated for multiple awards at international film festivals, winning several of them. Divine Intervention, directed by Suleiman, won the Judges' Choice Award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, which is regarded as the second-most significant honor after the Golden Palm. Furthermore, he became the first Palestinian director to win an honor from the European Film Academy.
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