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Maha Haj's UPSHOT Wins International Audience Award at Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival
09 February 2025
UPSHOT, the powerful short film by Palestinian director Maha Haj, has added another accolade to its growing list of honors by winning the International Audience Award at the prestigious 47th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
Previously, the short already garnered significant recognition, winning the Golden Pardino at the 77th Locarno Film Festival, Golden Star for Best Short at the El Gouna Film Festival, Best Film at the Sharjah Film Festival, and an Audience Award at the FrontDoc Film Festival.
It has also been featured at the Palestine Filmer C'est Exister, Carthage Film Festival, Cinemed Montpellier, and MedFilm festivals.
Set against the backdrop of Gaza's enduring strife, UPSHOT tells the story of Suleiman and Lubna, a couple who retreat to an isolated farm shrouded in mist as they grapple with profound loss. Their fragile escape is disrupted by an unexpected visitor who brings a harrowing revelation from their past, challenging the delicate fantasy they've built.
UPSHOT is a Palestinian-French-Italian co-production, produced by August Films in collaboration with Hanna Atallah and Ronza Kamel, with international sales being handled by MAD World and MAD Distribution in charge of distribution in Arabic-speaking territories.
The film features renowned Palestinian actors Mohammed Bakri, Areen Omari, and Amer Hlehel, with Augustin Bonnet handling the cinematography, Veronique Lange on editing, and Saher Dwairy overseeing production design.
Maha Haj, known for her diverse background in English and Arabic literature, made her directorial debut with the short film ORANGES and followed it with the documentary BEHIND THESE WALLS. Her feature film debut, PERSONAL AFFAIRS, was critically acclaimed and selected for Cannes' Un Certain Regard in 2015. Her subsequent feature, MEDITERRANEAN FEVER, won the Best Screenplay Prize at the 75th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard and represented Palestine in the 94th Academy Awards’ Best International Feature category.
Previously, the short already garnered significant recognition, winning the Golden Pardino at the 77th Locarno Film Festival, Golden Star for Best Short at the El Gouna Film Festival, Best Film at the Sharjah Film Festival, and an Audience Award at the FrontDoc Film Festival.
It has also been featured at the Palestine Filmer C'est Exister, Carthage Film Festival, Cinemed Montpellier, and MedFilm festivals.
Set against the backdrop of Gaza's enduring strife, UPSHOT tells the story of Suleiman and Lubna, a couple who retreat to an isolated farm shrouded in mist as they grapple with profound loss. Their fragile escape is disrupted by an unexpected visitor who brings a harrowing revelation from their past, challenging the delicate fantasy they've built.
UPSHOT is a Palestinian-French-Italian co-production, produced by August Films in collaboration with Hanna Atallah and Ronza Kamel, with international sales being handled by MAD World and MAD Distribution in charge of distribution in Arabic-speaking territories.
The film features renowned Palestinian actors Mohammed Bakri, Areen Omari, and Amer Hlehel, with Augustin Bonnet handling the cinematography, Veronique Lange on editing, and Saher Dwairy overseeing production design.
Maha Haj, known for her diverse background in English and Arabic literature, made her directorial debut with the short film ORANGES and followed it with the documentary BEHIND THESE WALLS. Her feature film debut, PERSONAL AFFAIRS, was critically acclaimed and selected for Cannes' Un Certain Regard in 2015. Her subsequent feature, MEDITERRANEAN FEVER, won the Best Screenplay Prize at the 75th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard and represented Palestine in the 94th Academy Awards’ Best International Feature category.
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