Told through the director’s alter ego, Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman (ES) escapes from Palestine seeking an alternative homeland. On his travels, however, he finds parallels to Palestine and senses that it is trailing behind him wherever he goes. The promise of a new life turns into a comedy of errors for ES, no matter how far he travels. He visits the Louvre in Paris where tanks roll down the streets, or upon a visit to America spots citizens carrying AK-15 rifles into supermarkets. Wherever he is, something always reminds him of home. Joined on his journey by Mexican movie star Gael Garcia Bernal and told largely through comical vignettes, It Must Be Heaven received a Special Mention from the international jury of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
