Amman 2026: The Awards
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VERDICT: Cyril Aris's romcom grounded in Lebanon's harsh reality 'A Sad and Beautiful World' won Amman's Arab Narrative competition, while in the Arab Feature Documentary race Tawfiq Sabouni's moving recreation of life in a Syrian prison 'The Other Side of the Sun' won three awards.
The Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film concluded its seventh edition on Aug. 3 with a grand closing ceremony held at the Amman Citadel, in the presence of Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein and Princess Rym Ali, President and Co-Founder of the Festival.
Arab Feature-Length Narrative Film Awards
- Black Iris: A Sad and Beautiful World directed by Cyril Aris (Lebanon)
- Jury Award: The President’s Cake directed by Hasan Hadi (Iraq)
- Best First-Time Scriptwriter: Mohamed Rashad for The Settlement (Egypt)
- Best First-Time Lead Actor: Hasan Akil for A Sad and Beautiful World (Lebanon)
- Best First-Time Lead Actress: Eya Bellagha for Where the Wind Comes From (Tunisia)
- Audience Award: A Sad and Beautiful World directed by Cyril Aris (Lebanon)
Arab Feature-Length Documentary Film Awards
- Black Iris: Habibi Hussein directed by Alex Bakri (Palestine)
- Jury Award: The Other Side of the Sun directed by Tawfik Sabouni (Syria)
- FIPRESCI Award: The Other Side of the Sun directed by Tawfik Sabouni (Syria)
- Audience Award: The Other Side of the Sun directed by Tawfik Sabouni (Syria)
Arab Short Film Awards
- Black Iris: Bimo directed by Oumnia Hanader (Algeria)
- Best Jordanian Film: Ambush directed by Yassmina Karajah
- Jury Award: Aicha directed by Sanaa El Alaoui (Morocco)
- Special Mention: Passport Wedding directed by Abdallah Al-Ziadi (Jordan)
- Audience Award: Cleanse the streets directed by Aysha Shahaltough (Jordan)
Non-Arab Feature-Length Narrative Film Awards
- Black Iris: Laundry directed by Zamo Mkhwanazi (South Africa)
- Jury Award: We Believe You directed by Charlotte Devillers & Arnaud Dufeys (Belgium)
- Audience Award: Laundry directed by Zamo Mkhwanazi (South Africa)