page_title: Hany Abu-Assad
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: Hany Abu-Assad / Early life
caption_attribution_description: English: annuciation church as seen from Salesian church כנסיית הבשורה כפי שהיאin nazareth נראית מהכנסייה הסלזיאנית בנצרת
context_page_description: Hany Abu-Assad is a Dutch-Palestinian-Israeli film director. He has received two Academy Award nominations: in 2006 for his film Paradise Now, and again in 2013 for his film Omar.
context_section_description: Abu-Assad was born to a Palestinian Muslim family, in the city of Nazareth, Israel  in 1961. He immigrated to the Netherlands in 1981, where he studied aerodynamics in Haarlem and worked as an airplane engineer for several years. 
  Abu-Assad was inspired after watching a film by Michel Khleifi to pursue a career in cinema. Abu-Assad initially started as a TV producer working on commissions for Channel 4 and the BBC. He founded Ayloul Film Productions in 1990 with the Palestinian film-maker Rashid Masharawi.
caption: Panoramic view of Nazareth, Abu-Assad's birthplace
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