“Revival”film by Amr Ali Wins Best Film Award at the Return Festival

Syrian director Amr Ali has won the Omani Peace Award for Best Arab Film at the ninth edition of the International Return Film Festival, which took place in Deir al-Balah, in the heart of Gaza, under the slogan”Awaiting Return” for his film “Revival.”

This marks the third award for the short film, following two awards at the Heliopolis Short Film Forum during its third edition held last year, where Ali received the Best Director award and Ruba Halabi won the Best Actress award.

The film’s plot unfolds inside a hospital, where two brothers engage in a conflict that leads to their mother’s deteriorating health, leaving her between life and death. The cast includes Hassan Awaity, Yazan Khalil, Mustafa Al-Mustafa, Juliette Khoury, alongside Ruba Halabi.

The son of the late Hatem Ali, who graduated from the Higher Institute of Cinema in Cairo in 2016, has previously won several awards, including Best Short Film at the Malmo Arab Film Festival and Rotterdam Arab Film Festival for his film “Coma.”

It is worth noting that the Return Film Festival is held annually in the besieged city of Gaza as a reaffirmation of the Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their usurped lands. The festival coincides with the
commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba in May each year, taking place in Palestine and several Arab and foreign countries.

Nada Haj Khidr