Palestinian-British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi's The Present took home the Bafta on Saturday evening for Best British Short Film.
Nabulsi virtually accepted the award at the first instalment of a two-part ceremony, the main event for which will take place on Sunday evening, virtually, from London.
The film, which is Nabulsi’s directorial debut, tells the story of Yousef, played by Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, who decides to go with his daughter to buy a gift for his wife on their wedding anniversary. However, the task of shopping for the gift is made almost impossible because of the challenges of life under occupation.
The award for British Short Film was presented by Clara Amfo, who announced The Present as winner over Eyelash, Lizard, Lucky Break and Miss Curvy.
"Wow, wow, amazing," Nabulsi said as she accepted the award. "For anyone who has seen The Present, which is now streaming on a worldwide platform …you would know why I dedicate this award to the people of Palestine for whom freedom and equality is long, long overdue."
The film made its world premiere at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in February 2020 and won the audience award.
The film, co-written by Palestinian filmmaker and poet Hind Shoufani, was shot over six days in the Palestinian territories.
In an interview with The National last year, Nabulsi said that, to her, the film is about "human dignity and the importance of dignity and what it means for someone to continuously be dehumanised".
“It’s a simple story that speaks volumes about the absurd situation that exists there [in Palestine].”
The Present has also been nominated in the Live Action Short category for the Oscars. The winner will be announced on Sunday, April 25.
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
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Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
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The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
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- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Tesalam Aleik
Abdullah Al Ruwaished
(Rotana)
