Two Arab films have been awarded the prestigious Jury Prize awards at the Sundance Film Festival 2019. Both Aziza and Dunya’s Day were selected from over 14,259 submissions from 152 countries.
Winner of the Short Film GRAND JURY PRIZE: AZIZA #sundance pic.twitter.com/GpOipVnG9J
— SundanceFilmFestival (@sundancefest) January 30, 2019
Aziza — which is a 13-minute dark comedy about Syrian refugees, directed by Soudade Kaadan and written by Soudade Kaadan, May Hayek, won the Grand Jury Prize. It was among 73 shorts selected from 9,443 submissions.
Saudi film Dunya’s Day, directed by Raed Alsemari, won the Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s the first Saudi film to premiere at the festival, and follows the story of a woman, Dunya, abandoned by her domestic help, who fights to throw the perfect graduation soirée.
Big news for Saudi cinema! Congrats to the entire cast and crew of DUNYA’S DAY, led by director Raed Alsemari, on their Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction win at the Sundance Film Festival! It's also the first Saudi film to premiere at the festival. #SupportArabCinema pic.twitter.com/5TvTqzMYvg
— Dubai International Film Festival (@dubaifilm) January 30, 2019
