November 28, 2023

17th Edition of the NDU International Film Festival – Beirut Shorts

NDU International Film Festival – Beirut Shorts, organized by the Faculty of Humanities, Department of Audiovisual Arts, and in partnership with the Beirut Film Society, held its 17th session on Friday night, November 24.

The festival director/founder and president of the Beirut Film Society, Sam Lahoud, stressed the need to combine the power of youth and the power of cinema through cultural resistance, rejecting hate speech, rejecting racism, and conveying the voice of right and truth, which must always be a compass and a road map for artists, especially for filmmakers, citing international texts and conventions, which we must adhere to.
Sam Lahoud touched on the core role and mission of the festival, in opening a platform for filmmakers to make their voices heard, despite all the destruction and blood that is shaking the world, the rigion, and Palestine in particular.

The awards were announced in the presence of filmmakers, artists and the jury: producer Sabine Sidawi, president, actress Diamond Bou Abboud, director Michel Kammoun, director and actor Fouad Yammine, and director Amin Dorra.

The prizes were as follows:

International competition:

– Best experimental film: MAST DEL

– Best animated film: ZOO

– Best Documentary Film: HARDLY WORKING

– Grand Jury Prize: NADA DE TODO ESTO

– Best Narrative Film: DAYDREAMING SO VIVIDLY ABOUT OUR SPANISH DAYS

Local competition:

– Best Animated Film: A LOVING MOM, directed by Ribal Abi Raad

– Best Documentary Film: A SELF PORTRAIT OF 4 CHAPTERS, directed by Suleiman Al-Tinawi and Ayham Attia.

– Grand Jury Award: SEE YOU SOON, directed by Carly Hanna

– Best Student Film: AN ALBUM OF VOWS, directed by Elio Tarabay

– Best Independent Film: IF THE SUN DROWNED INTO AN OCEAN OF CLOUDS, directed by Wissam Sharaf

As for the Audience Award, it consists of financial prizes presented by BOB FINANCE, and was announced by the General Manager of the company, Mr. Michael Abdel Nour:

– Official competition category: An Album of Vows

– Sparks category (outside competition): Oumnya

– Seeds Student Talent Category: Tanjara W Ghataha

It should be noted that film critic and university professor Emile Chahine presented the “Emile Chahine Award for Cinematic Excellence” in his capacity as the honorary president of the jury for the film IF THE SUN DROWNED INTO AN OCEAN OF CLOUDS, directed by Wissam Sharaf.

The festival included a group of meetings and dialogues, the most notable of which was a dialogue between director Bahij Hojeij and director of photography Milad Tawk, and a second meeting between director Michel Kamoun and actress Rita Hayek, about the challenges and ways of cooperation between the parties to the production work, during which they were interviewed by journalist Aline Chamoun.

The festival also included a series of specialized lectures on the “Cinema for Peace” project for two days with director Zeina Daccache, in partnership with FORUM ZFD.