The official nominations will be announced on March 15, ahead of the Oscars ceremony.
The Academy Awards (Oscars) 2021 has shortlisted two films directed by Arab women. Both Palestinian-British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi’s short film The Present and Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Man Who Sold His Skin have a chance of scooping up an Academy Award.
Nabulsi’s short film has been shortlisted in the ‘Live Action Short’ category alongside Bittu by Karishma Dev Dube, Da Yie, the Doug Rolland-directed Feeling Through and The Human Voice by filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar among others.
The Present, which marks Nabulsi’s directorial debut, tells the story of Yousef, played by Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, who decides to go with his daughter to buy a gift for his wife on their wedding anniversary. The task of shopping for the gift is almost impossible because of the challenges of life under occupation.
In the meantime, Ben Hania’s feature has been shortlisted for the ‘International Feature Film’ award among 14 other films.
The Man Who Sold His Skin, stars Yahya Mahayni as a Syrian refugee who allows his own body to be turned into a work of art. Part love story, part art-world satire, the film is a complex study of a refugee’s struggle with borders and residency permits.
The official nominations will be announced on March 15, ahead of the Oscars ceremony, which is scheduled to take place on April 25.
