BAFTA: The best short film for 2021 is Palestinian!

The BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award for best short film has just been given to the Palestinian film The Present. Directed by Farah Nabulsi, an up-and-coming British and Palestinian filmmaker, the film tells the story of a father searching for a gift for his wife on their wedding anniversary. Accompanied by his daughter Yasmine, Yusuf, the main character, has to cross checkpoints and avoid Israeli soldiers in order to achieve his goal, as many Palestinians do every day to accomplish their daily tasks.

When reality exceeds fiction

A film that is certainly totally fictional, but which in reality tells the story of the normal life of a large number of Palestinians, who see ordinary, even insignificant, things take on unimaginable proportions due to the occupation and the political, social, economic and human stress it generates. The director also pointed out that many scenes were made without extras, with only the father and his daughter as actors, the rest being authentic passers-by.

 

This award is a nice recognition for this project, also nominated for the Oscars, and which was shot in only 6 days…