PALESTINIAN EXODUS: Egyptian director Yousri Nasrallah's film Bab El-Shams (Door to the Sun) will be premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May. An epic tale of love and loss, the 4.5 hour, two-part film is an adaptation of Lebanese writer Elias Khoury's novel. Khoury worked with Nasrallah on the screenplay.

Bab El-Shams covers half a century of Palestinian dispossession and resistance through the life of its two protagonists, Younis and his adopted son, Khalil. It is the first large-scale production to attempt to portray the 1948 Palestinian exodus. Shot in Lebanon and Syria it features actors from six Arab countries.

Bab El-Shams is one of 16 films picked by the Cannes Film Festival as part of its official, out-of-competition, selection.

Youssef Chahine's Alexandria New York will also be screened out of competition.