Thank you for viewing our shorts program, Breaking Through Societal Confinement, where all of our short films highlight the confinements placed on us by society and our struggle to break free - physically, mentally and emotionally.

A young mother in Morocco, trapped in a mundane existence, confronts her dreams and fears, leading to the agonizing decision to forsake all she knows, even her children. About the Filmmaker<img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-storage.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/330/735/original/a171626d4e-headshot.jpg?1690452597" width="155"> Elias Suhail is a British-Moroccan writer and filmmaker whose works are interested in narratives which compel a deeper questioning of our ethical and moral frameworks.His work spans creative non-fiction, short fiction, theatre and film. He has contributed several pieces to the New Statesman, had his work featured on BBC Sounds as part of the Margins to Mainstream with Michael Sheen podcast series, as well as performed to live audiences. Elias’s directorial debut, Beneath a Mother’s Feet, completed in 2023, has won numerous awards globally, including the Golden Cave Award for Best Fiction Short at the Tangier Film Festival, as well as Best First-Time Filmmaker and the Audience Choice Award at the Lift-Off Season Awards 2023.

English

Beneath a Mother's Feet

On the eve of Eid, 10-year-old Suad ventures into the girls' section of a store to find the perfect dress. However, after realizing that the dress she had picked is too small for her, her mother Sameera, who has been observing her, leads her to the women's section with only ten minutes left until the store closes. As they make their way to the women's section, Suad catches sight of a beautiful white dress on a thin mannequin, but her self-doubt kicks in, and she declares to her mother that the dress won't fit her. While Sameera heads off to get groceries, Suad embarks on a journey to find the right dress. Along the way, she meets a shopkeeper who presents her with some hard truths and eventually finds herself in a horrific fitting room with three mirrors. About the Filmmaker<img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-storage.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/320/565/original/6ad3b6901f-headshot.jpg?1680211066" width="178"> Afnan Tag is a Yemeni writer, director, producer and a graduate from Northwestern University Qatar. Over the past few years, she has worked on a variety of films that tackles issues of self, family and culture. In her own films, she explores coming of age stories that focuses on teenagers’ insecurities and struggles. Recently, Afnan produced 'Nasser &amp; the Ticket' which premiered and competed in Ajyal Film Festival and showcased in Doha Film Institute's 2022 World Cup Premiere. Also she completed her latest short film ‘Thobe El Eid’, which is heading for distribution.

Thobe El Eid

Following the aftermath of her parents divorce, a young woman reflects on her relationship with her estranged father which begins to heal through poetry and dance. About the Filmmaker<img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-storage.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/457/524/original/141ceadd03-headshot.jpg?1691261697" width="265"> A Muslim experimental filmmaker, director and screenwriter, Rayhan Kandri recently graduated with a BFA in Film &amp; TV from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her student filmography is experimental in style, leaning more towards poetic filmmaking than linear narrative, and which highlights her lifelong goal to show Western audiences the diverse beauty of the Arab and Muslim world. She is proudly Moroccan and has an interestingly mixed Arab-American-French identity and vision she feels can only come to life through experiential filmmaking.

Baba, Where Are You?

A closeted Arab wholesale perfume seller, attempting to mask his identity with excessive amounts of Polo Sport Adjacent cologne, is knocked off centre when a charming customer sees through his act. About the Filmmaker<img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-storage.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/166/877/original/4c5de5b49b-headshot.jpg?1662305551" width="254"> ﻿Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller is a Queer mixed-race Palestinian-Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto. Her work explores themes of fragmented identity, isolation and connection through grounded "oh no, should I laugh?" comedy. Fateema’s background in improvisation and clown greatly influences all of her work as she strives to create with integrity, depth and a sense of humour. She is particularly passionate about bringing to life nuanced and humanizing representations of Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims for the screen and prioritizes building spaces for marginalized voices to thrive both in front of and behind the camera. Fateema's short film EITR was one of 8 world-wide recipients of InsideOut's RE:Focus Fund, she is a Women in the Director's Chair and Canadian Film Centre Norman Jewison Directors' Lab alumni. She is currently in development for her first feature film, coming-of-age Palestinian dramedy, Waves/ 'Amwaj.

Eitr

When relatives come to visit from their homeland, Salma must choose between being the daughter her mother wants to present to them, and being herself. About the Filmmaker<img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-storage.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/401/466/original/bfdc0cf326-headshot.jpg?1687892842" width="168"> Lara Bedewi is a first generation Arab-American writer, director, and multimedia artist from Philadelphia whose films explore vulnerability and belonging through the lens of culture, ancestry, and community. Lara is a 2021 George and Rose B. Ashe Arts Scholarship recipient and was selected as a 2022 BlackStar Film Festival official screener. She is a 2023 Cinema &amp; Television BIPOC Filmmaker Grant awardee and recently screened her work at the Philadelphia Film Society's local film showcase.

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