Arab and Tarzan Nasser / Dégradé

Identical twin brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser (aka Ahmed and Mohamed Abu Nasser ) were born in Gaza in 1988. Inspired by their father’s passion for art, the two graduated with a B.F.A. in painting from al-Aqsa University in Gaza. 

In 2010, they received the A.M. Qattan Foundation’s prestigious “Young Artist of the Year Award” for their conceptual artwork “Gazawood", a series of mock-Hollywood posters for imaginary feature films named after real Israeli military offensives on Gaza. 

That same year, they directed their short “Colorful Journey” (2010) which had its premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. It was followed by more shorts: “Condom Lead” (2013), “Apartment” (2014), and “With Premeditation” (2014). “Dégradé" is their first feature. 

Growing up, the twins were determined to succeed as film directors, even though they had never been to a cinema; and studied fine arts at university even though they’d never set foot in a gallery.