TAF awards offer a financial reward to winning filmmakers, along with a one-of-a-kind trophy designed by Habiba El-Sayed, a ceramic artist in Toronto. Habiba designed the award to incorporate traditional motifs and more modern aesthetics, landing on “traditional mashrabihya, which are Islamic privacy screens, using a wood finish and incorporating that with a more sleek look of mirror. In this case, the mirror represents the way filmmakers are reflected in the works they create, and the way they reflect the experiences of the world around them.”
Nakheel Jury Award for Best Feature Film
Winner: Six Feet Over//ما فوق الضريح
Country: France, Algeria
Director: Karim Bensalah
Length: 96 mins
Synopsis: Son of a former Algerian diplomat Sofiane lived his entire life to this point abroad. Now a student in Lyon, he is the victim of an administrative decision and is living under the threat of expulsion.
Honourable Mention: The Tedious Tour of M//جولة ميم المملة
Country: Egypt
Director: Hend Bakr
Length: 76 mins
Synopsis: A peanuts street vendor who turned into one of the stars of the modern history of Egyptian literature in the sixties, comes back to his hometown and cocoons for 30 years. He claims that he was doomed to stop writing forever.
Jury
Nisreen Baker is a director, producer and screenwriter who has been working in the film industry for over 20 years, collaborating with local and international talents and broadcasters to create multilingual films that promote multiculturalism, give voice to underrepresented and marginalized communities, and explore cultural identity and sociopolitical issues. Her passion for these topics stems from her exposure to different cultures, religions and societies, having lived in six different countries around the world, and having first-hand experience with social and political turmoil.
Nisreen’s 2023 feature documentary, Arab Women Say What?! is a radical contemplation on politics, identity and home, unfolding through the provocative conversations, hospitality and openness of a group of Arab-Canadian women. Her pervious film Things Arab Men Say depicts a group of Arab men at a barbershop getting haircuts and shaves, while debating various issues, and expressing often-surprising views with deft humor. The documentary earned four ROSIE Awards nominations (Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Editor). Both documentaries were produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Her other work includes Women of Karaoun which premiered at Calgary International Film Festival, is about three generations of Lebanese women in Canada, and Cultural Competency, which follows four immigrant families and one Canadian family as they navigate the challenges encountered in Canada.
Mariam El Ajraoui is a Moroccan-French scholar specializing in the cinemas of the Arab world, which she examines from a decolonial perspective. Her doctoral dissertation, titled Filmic References in Moroccan Cinema: An Aesthetic and Political Practice, presented at the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, explores, through the study of filmic citations, the aesthetic and political issues in the formation of a national cinema in a postcolonial context. A co-founder of the research program Contextes et Imaginaires des Cinémas du Monde Arabe (CICMA), Mariam El Ajraoui is also a filmmaker and actress in self-produced films, favoring independence from the film industry, which she nevertheless enjoys observing and analyzing.
Mouwafak Chourbagui is an Egyptian-Lebanese festival programmer and writer based in Cairo, Egypt. He first stumbled into the cinema industry by working with a French director on a 2011 documentary about Egyptian Shaabi music for Arte. He has since then worked as a programmer with Zawya, one of the first art-house cinemas in Egypt, as well as with the El Gouna Film Festival.
Qayqub Jury Award for Best Canadian Short Film
Winner: VHS Tape Replaced
Country: Saudi Arabia, Canada
Director: Maha Al-Saati
Length: 17 mins
Synopsis: Set in 1987, a young black Saudi man attempts to impress a girl by mimicking the music video of Crown, an iconic singer from that time.
Honourable Mention: Somewhere, but not here
Country: Canada
Director: Karel Malkoun
Length: 23 mins
Synopsis: Miles away, I watch the slow erasing of my home. Scattered between two places, I am no longer anywhere.
Jury
Saoussane Boutarta is a Moroccan-Canadian journalist and communications expert based in Canada, holding a BA in Psychology. With over a decade of experience in journalism and content creation, she has a deep passion for storytelling and a keen eye for engaging narratives. She is particularly passionate about immigration and immigrant stories, continuously working as a reporter to highlight these voices. Saoussane is dedicated to exploring and sharing diverse narratives, bringing a unique perspective to every story she tells.
Karan Archana is a Sainte-Adèle, Québec based writer/filmmaker. Their first short film ‘Faceless’ (2012), explored supremacy of the white majority in the LGBTQI+ communities in North America. Karan’s projects focus on telling untold stories of othered peoples and communities, and as a queer person of South Asian origin, aim to bring South Asian stories to an international audience. Karan’s last short film ‘Mum Singh’, received funding from the Canadian and Québec Arts councils, and premiered at the Reel Pride Film festival, Winnipeg, having screened at other Canadian and international film festivals. Their latest short ‘Pass the Salt‘ will be releasing in the Summer of 2024 and they are developing their first feature ‘Zoya iman Ayaz‘.
Fatima Wardy is a Sudanese and British filmmaker, currently based in Austin, Texas. Her upcoming short ‘White Musk’ was selected for the Short Form Station lab at Berlinale Talents, and concerns a young Sudanese woman coming to terms with the loss of her mother. Additionally, she is currently developing a documentary feature titled ‘The Love Marriage’ about the Omar al-Bashir military coup in 1989. It was awarded funding by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC).
Juthour Jury Award for Most Promising Filmmaker, Short Film
Winner: Beneath a Mother’s Feet//تحت أقدام أم
Country: United Kingdom, Morocco
Director: Elias Suhail
Length: 15 mins
Synopsis: A single mother in Morocco, trapped in a mundane existence, confronts her dreams and fears, leading to the agonising decision to forsake all she knows, even her children.
Honourable Mention: Hanina//Homesick
Country: Egypt, United States
Director: Yasmin Moll
Length: 8 mins
Synopsis: A young girl flies back in time to her drowned homeland, guided by the songs and stories of her community
Jury
Saoussane Boutarta is a Moroccan-Canadian journalist and communications expert based in Canada, holding a BA in Psychology. With over a decade of experience in journalism and content creation, she has a deep passion for storytelling and a keen eye for engaging narratives. She is particularly passionate about immigration and immigrant stories, continuously working as a reporter to highlight these voices. Saoussane is dedicated to exploring and sharing diverse narratives, bringing a unique perspective to every story she tells.
Karan Archana is a Sainte-Adèle, Québec based writer/filmmaker. Their first short film ‘Faceless’ (2012), explored supremacy of the white majority in the LGBTQI+ communities in North America. Karan’s projects focus on telling untold stories of othered peoples and communities, and as a queer person of South Asian origin, aim to bring South Asian stories to an international audience. Karan’s last short film ‘Mum Singh’, received funding from the Canadian and Québec Arts councils, and premiered at the Reel Pride Film festival, Winnipeg, having screened at other Canadian and international film festivals. Their latest short ‘Pass the Salt‘ will be releasing in the Summer of 2024 and they are developing their first feature ‘Zoya iman Ayaz‘.
Fatima Wardy is a Sudanese and British filmmaker, currently based in Austin, Texas. Her upcoming short ‘White Musk’ was selected for the Short Form Station lab at Berlinale Talents, and concerns a young Sudanese woman coming to terms with the loss of her mother. Additionally, she is currently developing a documentary feature titled ‘The Love Marriage’ about the Omar al-Bashir military coup in 1989. It was awarded funding by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC).
Yamama Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film
Winner: VHS Tape Replaced
Country: Saudi Arabia, Canada
Director: Maha Al-Saati
Length: 17 mins
Synopsis: Set in 1987, a young black Saudi man attempts to impress a girl by mimicking the music video of Crown, an iconic singer from that time.
Honourable Mention: I Never Promised You A Jasmine Garden//لم أعدك بالياسمين
Country: Canada
Director: Teyama Alkamli
Length: 20 mins
Synopsis: Tara, a queer Palestinian woman in her late 20s, attempts to suppress her internal emotional turbulence during a phone call with her best friend Sarab, with whom she is in love.