Warsha Wins Sundance Short Film Jury Award (International Fiction)

Scene from Warsha, Directed by Dania Bdeir

I first heard about the Lebanese short film Warsha when its Director Dania Bdeir was awarded the Short Film Jury Award (International Fiction) at the Sundance Festival (2022). Now that I've watched it, I can safely say that it more than lives up to the hype.

Everything about this film oozes with originality, from the theme to the cinematography to the acting to the soundtrack in which Umm Kuthum is remixed and resurrected in a subversive way.

Scene from Warsha

Khansa's performance as the lead is brilliant; although the character never utters a word, he leaves us stunned and amazed through powerful gestures, body movement, and facial expressions.

This is a courageous film that tackles issues related to gender, identity and the refugee crisis in a variety of unexpected ways.

On a side note, I was delighted to see Khansa in the main role, having interviewed this amazing performance artist/singer for my radio show a few years ago.  Since then, I had followed his amazing music videos and performance clips on YouTube but to see him star in this film takes our Lebanese icon to a whole other level.

You can listen to my interview with Khansa directly at THIS LINK or below (go to 37:07) 

arabology · Arabology 13.2 [Shubbak Festival 2019 Ft Interviews with Bu Kolthoum, Khansa, Juliana Yazbeck]