A screen shot from the Oscar-nominated short film “The Present” by Palestinian-British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi.
Palestinian-British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi’s short film The Present, a film supported by Doha Film Institute (DFI), has been announced as one of the five nominees in the Live-Action Short category at this year’s Academy Awards.
The nominations in all 23 Oscar categories were announced via global live stream yesterday by actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas and singer, songwriter and actor Nick Jonas.
Nabulsi’s first venture into directing, The Present is a short film that centres around a man named Yusef and his daughter who set out in the West Bank to buy his wife a surprise gift. The film sheds light on how Palestinians are deprived of the basic right to freedom of movement.
A week ago, the film, which was co-written by Nabulsi, was also announced as a nominee for Best British Short Film at the BAFTAs, the awards ceremony of which is scheduled on April 11.
“The Present” previously won a string of awards from various international festivals such as the Audience Award for Best Film at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2020 where it marked its world premiere, the Jury Award for Best Live Action Short at the Cleveland International Film Festival, and Audience Award for Best Short Narrative at Brooklyn Film Festival 2020.
A human rights advocate, Nabulsi left the corporate world in 2015 to start working in the Palestinian film industry as a writer and producer of short fiction films, inspired by Palestinian realities and topics that matter to her. One of these films ‘Today They Took My Son’ was endorsed by renowned Director Ken Loach, screened at the United Nations and officially selected to top international film festivals.
The Academy Awards ceremony will be held this year on April 25.
Another DFI-granted film Notturno, helmed by Italian director, cinematographer, producer and screenwriter Gianfranco Rosi, which made the Oscars shortlist for Best Documentary Feature failed to make it to the final nominations list.
Five films backed by DFI were the official entries of their respective countries for the Best International Feature Film category at this year’s Oscars including Notturno by Gianfranco Rosi (Italy), You Will Die at Twenty by Amjad Abu Alala (Sudan), Gaza Mon Amour by Tarzan Abunasser and Arab Abunasser (Palestine), The Unknown Saint by Alaa Eddine Aljem (Morocco), and 200 Meters by Ameen Nayfeh (Jordan).
Once again, this reaffirms DFI’s crucial role in supporting quality films in the Arab world and beyond.
