Let It Be Morning tells the story of Sami (played by Alex Bakri) a Palestinian-born Israeli citizen living in Jerusalem who receives an invitation to his brother’s wedding forcing him to return to the Arab village where he grew up. When the entire town is put under a military blockade lockdown by the Israeli government, chaos erupts. As Sami deals with questions about his own identity and hidden secrets are revealed, he watches everything he holds dear begin to fall apart -- or does it?
The film is adapted from the Sayed Kashua novel by the same name and Eran Kolirin has also written the script, as well as directed Let It Be Morning. The ensemble of players is simply phenomenal, as is Kolirin's ability to bridge cultures and show us that "the Other" is really within us.
Let It Be Morning premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, then went on to win in nine of the eleven categories in which it was nominated at the Ophir Awards (Israel’s Academy Awards). It walked away with Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress, among other prizes.
To coincide with the release of Let It Be Morning, the Quad Cinema will be presenting a four-day retrospective (Jan 30th - Feb 2nd) featuring select films from Eran Kolirin's filmography, celebrating the director's work, and this will include the 2007 global phenomenon (and Kolirin's feature directorial debut) The Band's Visit on 35mm as well as the 2011 Venice-selected, quirky comedy The Exchange and soldier-returns-home drama Beyond the Mountains and Hills, which competed in the Un Certain Regard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
The Band's Visit was turned into a Tony Award winning musical in 2016, playing first Off-Broadway and then moving to Broadway in 2017, with TV star Tony Shalhoub playing Tewfiq in both productions.
Cohen Media Group is releasing Let It Be Morning in theaters in the U.S., starting on February 3rd in NYC and Los Angeles. The film will then expand into select major cities on February 10th and nationwide on February 17th.
