'A Drowning Man' by Mahdi Fleifel Broadcasts on BBC Arabic TV Tonight

Press release

Published January 21st, 2018 - 11:09 GMT

The film will be competing for the 2018 BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

BBC Arabic TV has revealed that it will broadcast Palestinian director Mahdi Fleifel's short film A Drowning Man tonight, Sunday, January 21, through its Alternative Cinema programme.

At the same time, the film will be competing for the 2018 BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Last month, A Drowning Man won the Best Muhr Short Film award at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). The film made its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival as the only Arab participation in the Short Films competition.

A Drowning Man is a co-production between Denmark, the UK and Greece. Alone and far from home, The Kid makes his way through a strange city looking for the means to get through his day. Surrounded by predators he is forced to make compromises merely to survive, his life of exile grows one day longer.

Written and directed by Mahdi Fleifel, A Drowning Man stars Atef Alshafei, Jalal Qaniry, Mounir Alkhateeb, Rebih El-Saleous and Thymios Koukios. The film is produced by Final Cut for Real, Nakba Film Works and distributed by MAD Solutions in the Arab world, while Salaud Morisset is handling the film's world sales.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is going to announce the winners on Sunday, February 18, 2018.

A Drowning Man participated in the Toronto International Film Festival, within its Short Cuts competition, Melbourne International Film Festival and the Odense International Film Festival. The film won the Silver Spike Award for Best Short Film at the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain.

Broadcast Times of A Drowning Man on BBC Arabic TV (GMT)

Sunday, January 21, 07:06 PM

Rebroadcast

Monday, January 22, 10:06 PM

Thursday, January 25, 10:06 PM

Saturday, January 27, 09:06 PM

The film can also be watched online through the following link: http://www.bbc.com/arabic/tvandradio/2012/10/000000_cinema_badila

To watch interviews with the film's director on Alternative Cinema's Facebook page, please follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/BBCArabicAlternativeCinema/

Background Information

MAD Solutions

MAD Solutions is the first Pan-Arab independent studio and fully integrative marketing and creative consultancy for the Arab film and Entertainment Industry. Under the umbrella of MAD Solutions, the studio is supported by five pillars: MAD Marketing, MAD Content, MAD Distribution, MAD Culture and MAD Celebrity, which together are helping to usher in an exciting new generation of Arab filmmakers and entertainment talent.