Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s 'The Man Who Sold His Skin' and Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi’s 'The Present' are in the running for the Oscars this year.
The Academy Awards (Oscars) 2021 has nominated two films directed by Arab women. Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Man Who Sold His Skin has been nominated in the International Feature Film category. It is up against Jasmila Zbanic’s war drama Quo Vadis, Aida?, the Alexander Nanau-directed Romania, Another Round from Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg and Kwok Cheung Tsang’s Better Days.
Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi’s The Present is up for the Best Live Action Short Film award. The short film is competing against Doug Roland’s Feeling Through, a short drama film directed by Elvira Lind The Letter Room, Two Distant Strangers by Travon Free and the Tomer Shushan-directed White Eye.
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 Present which marks Nabulsi’s directorial debut is a short film that 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.
The 93rd Oscars is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 25.
