The acclaimed Lebanese short film “Warsha” has won the Best Short Film Ouray International Film Festival (OIFF), held in Colorado, USA.
According to the jury’s comments, Warsha has a bold cinematic style as it “manages to create an entire world in its brief running time.”
This short film is written and directed by Dania Bdeir, a Lebanese-Canadian filmmaker, and follows a Syrian crane worker in Beirut, named Mohammad, who volunteers to work on one of the most dangerous cranes in Lebanon.
During the Syrian worker’s shift, he discovers a sense of freedom away from the people’s eyes.
The short film starred Mohamad Al Khansa. It was produced by Coralie Dias of Inter Spinas Films (France), and co-produced by Né à Beyrouth Films (Lebanon).
“Warsha” has received 19 awards to date, including the George Lucas Award (Grand Prix) award at the 2022 Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA), which was held in Tokyo, Japan.
It was also announced as the winner of the Best International Narrative Short Award at the KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, and the winner of the Short Film Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
It also won the Best International Short Film Winner at the Rio LGBTQIA+ Festival de cinema and was selected at numerous film festivals.
