MARS AT SUNRISE, the feature directorial debut of Jewish American filmmaker Jessica Habie opens in NYC at the Quad Cinema on February 7, 2014.  Inspired by the true story of renowned Palestinian artist in exile Hani Zurob, MARS AT SUNRISE tells the story of an imprisoned Palestinian artist who descends into vibrant surrealist creativity at the hands of his attendant Israeli prison interrogator, also a conflicted artist.  

Mars At Sunrise is the story of a war waged on imagination. A painter’s resistance, courage and spirit can never be imprisoned in this highly stylized story of the conflict of two frustrated artists on either side of Israel’s militarized borders. Inspired by the creative journey of renowned Palestinian artist in exile Hani Zurob and on true stories and testimonies from the region, we witness expression, confinement, torture, jealousy, courage and freedom as both artists from each culture strive to paint a picture of life surrounded by conflict. Mars at Sunrise stars Ali Suliman as Khaled, Golden Globe Winner for Best Foreign Film 2005, Paradise Now; Guy El Hanan as Eyal, an Israeli radio personality and an accomplished playwright; and Haale Gafori as Azzadeh, a singer based in Brooklyn and author of the film’s original poetry. The soundtrack features six languages (English, Hebrew, Russian, Yiddish, Farsi and Arabic) and was produced by Tamir Muskat of the Balkan Beat Box, and featuring original music by Itamar Ziegler and Mohsen Subhi.