Balsan also came to be known as a champion of Arab cinema. He produced Elia Suleiman's "Divine Intervention" (2003), which in 2002 became the first Palestinian film to play at the Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or and eventually won the Grand Jury Prize. The producer returned to Cannes in 2004 with Youssef Chahine's "Alexandria... New York" (2004), his ninth film with the Egyptian director since 1985's "Adieu, Bonaparte". Balsan also presented "The Gate of Sun" (2004), his second film with Yousry Nasrallah, who adapted the Elias Khoury novel. The 4-hour epic screened in the Official Selection and depicted the history of Palestine from 1943 to the present. Later that year, Balsan's production "Le Grand Voyage" (2004) won its director, Moroccan émigré Ismaël Ferroukhi, a best first feature prize at the 2004 Venice Film Festival.