OSN Releases 30 Award-Winning Arabic Independent Short Films

This month, OSN is calling on fans of Arab independent cinema to enjoy over30 titles of award-winning independent Arab short films complete with subtitles, exclusively on its platform starting 31^st July. All movies will also be made available on the OSN streaming app.

The selection of short films has been showcased at the world’s most prestigious international film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, Toronto and Dubai. Rolla Karam, Interim Chief Content Officer at OSN said, ‘We’re thrilled to be able to provide our subscribers with the very best of Arab independent cinema, giving these short films the exposure they deserve. Independent movies are often limited to special screenings and film festivals so we are proud to be able to bring this form of art to viewers in the region and to champion these skilled Arab filmmakers by showcasing over 30 of their short films on our platform, on both OSN Yahala Cinema and OSN’s streaming app.”

To kick-start the list, Karouma is an Emirati animation that tells the story of a young and gifted boy who is striving to break through and leave his parents nest to pursue his dreams and realize his full potential. The film toured more than 70 film festivals around the world and won eight awards including Best Animation Film Award at the Pennine Film Festival, Silver Remi Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, and Best International Expat Short Award at the Korea International Expat Film Festival.

Ayny, a JordanianStop-Motion Animation, tells the story of two young boys running away from their mother to play music only to get caught up in the dangers of war. The film is a winner of Students Academy Awards in addition to more than 20 international awards, including Best Foreign Animation at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Best Animation at the Lebanon International Film Festival, and Best Short Film at the Valletta Film Festival.

Palestinian Drama, Five Boys and a Wheel, takes us to Jordan where a young father has to help his son out of a petty conflict with their neighbors. As the parents of each respective family meet to discuss the issue at hand, the discussion begin to quickly spin out of control, putting the values of the father to test. The film is based on American author Raymond Carver’s short story ‘Bicycles, Muscles, Cigarettes’, and has won several awards including Golden Wahr Award at the Oran International Arabic Film Festival, Silver Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival, and Golden Khanje Award at the Muscat International Film Festival.

The Rifle, the Jackal, the Wolf, and the Boy, a Lebanese Drama, is a coming-of-age parable that considers the ethics of seemingly innocent violence in a warning against the threats of telling lies, misjudging enemies, and engaging in actions that spread the cycle of vengeance. The film toured more than 20 international film festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival. It was also shortlisted for the 89th Academy Awards’ Best Live-Action Short Film category and won the Jury Award at the SHORT to the Point – International Short Film Festival.

Another Period Drama is The Parrot, a Jordanian film that tells the story of a ‘Mizrahi’ Jewish family, that emigrate from Morocco to try to settle into their new life in Haifa, Palestine in 1948, to find an abandoned parrot in their new home. The independent film stars famous Tunisian actress Hend Sabri and has toured many international film festivals and won two Jury Awards at the Malmö Arab Film Festival and Mizna’s Twin Cities Arab Film Festival.

Full list of independent award-winning international films on OSN:

UAE

• Karouma
• The Remaining Time
• Sarmad

Palestine

• Five Boyd and a Wheel
• Bonbone
• A Drowning Man

Jordan

• The Parrot
• Ayny
• Give Up the Ghost
• One Minute

Lebanon

• The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf, and The Boy
• Lilacs
• Nocturne in Black
• Nightshift
• Submarine
• Before We Heal
• Sous Les Soutanes
• Bahiya& Mahmoud

Tunisia

• Fatum
• Astra
• Bolbol

Syria

• Adam
• Detained

Algeria/ French

• Kindil
• Discipline
• Sacrilege
• Terrain/ Vague

Bahrain

• Pick-up
• Central Market

Iraq

• Abdullah and Leilah
• Abraham
• Five O’Clock