Lebanese romance A Sad And Beautiful World scooped three prizes including the Black Iris for best Arab feature at the 7th Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film (AIFF).
The feature directorial debut of Cyril Aris received a cash prize of $15,000 for winning the Black Iris and also won an audience award and best first-time lead actor for Hasan Akil.
Akil accepted the awards on behalf of the filmmaker during AIFF’s closing ceremony on Monday (August 3) at Amman’s Citadel, held beside the Temple of Hercules, and attended by Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein and Princess Rym Ali, president and co-founder of the festival.
The film, which follows a Lebanese couple over three decades, premiered in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori last year, where it won the People’s Choice Award. It went on to win a string of festival awards and was Lebanon’s submission to the Oscars.
Hasan Hadi’s The President’s Cake, winner of the Caméra d’Or at Cannes last year, received the Arab feature jury prize.
Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Rashad won the best first-time screenwriter award for The Settlement, which premiered at the Berlinale, while Tunisian actress Eya Bellagha won the best first-time lead actress prize for her role in Where The Wind Comes From by Tunisian filmmaker Amel Guellaty.
The jury comprised Cairo-based Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Egyptian British actor and producer Khaled Abdallah, Lebanese filmmaker Joana Hadjithomas and Jordanian composer Tareq Al Nasser.
In the Arab documentary competition, Palestinian filmmaker Alex Bakri’s Habibi Hussein won the Black Iris and a $10,000 cash award, while Syrian filmmaker Tawfik Sabouni’s The Other Side Of The Sun, which premiered at the Berlinale in February, swept the remaining awards, taking the jury, audience and Fipresci prizes.
The documentary jury comprised Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei, Jordanian filmmaker and producer Dalia Al Kury and Palestinian filmmaker and producer Rabab Haj Yahya.
In the non-Arab feature competition, South African filmmaker Zamo Mkhwanazi’s Laundry won both the Black Iris and audience award, while the Belgian drama We Believe You by Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys received the jury award.
US-Canadian co-production Lucky Lu by Lloyd Lee Choi received a special mention from the jury, which comprised Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza, Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri and Jordanian Canadian composer Suad Bushnaq.
Held under the theme “Beyond The Frame”, the festival’s seventh edition run for nine days showcasing emerging Arab and international cinema.
“We refuse to be defeated. Our culture will live on,” AIFF director Nada Doumani said at the closing ceremony. “We want a cinema that dares to make bold choices, one that moves forward, stumbles and tries again. We hope to see stories that refuse to let challenges become the only narrative we tell.”
Amman 2026 winners
Arab Feature Narrative Competition
Black Iris ($15,000)
A Sad And Beautiful World
Dir. Cyril Aris (Leb)
Jury Award ($5,000)
The President’s Cake
Dir. Hasan Hadi (Iraq)
Best First-Time Screenwriter
Mohamed Rashad
The Settlement (Egy)
Best First-Time Lead Actor
Hasan Akil
A Sad And Beautiful World (Leb)
Best First-Time Lead Actress
Eya Bellagha
Where The Wind Comes From (Tun)
Audience Award
A Sad And Beautiful World
Dir. Cyril Aris (Leb)
Arab Feature Documentary Competition
Black Iris ($10,000)
Habibi Hussein
Dir. Alex Bakri (Pal)
Jury Award ($5,000)
The Other Side Of The Sun
Dir. Tawfik Sabouni (Syria)
Fipresci Award
The Other Side Of The Sun
Dir. Tawfik Sabouni (Syria)
Audience Award
The Other Side Of The Sun
Dir. Tawfik Sabouni (Syria)
Non-Arab Feature Competition
Black Iris ($4,000)
Laundry
Dir. Zamo Mkhwanazi (S Afr)
Jury Award ($1,000)
We Believe You
Dirs. Charlotte Devillers & Arnaud Dufeys (Belg)
Audience Award
Laundry
Dir. Zamo Mkhwanazi (S Afr)
Special Mention
Lucky Lu
Dir. Lloyd Lee Choi (US-Can)
Arab Short Competition
Black Iris ($4,000)
Bimo
Dir. Oumnia Hanader (Alg)
Jury Award ($1,000)
Aicha
Dir. Sanaa El Alaoui (Mor)
Best Jordanian Film
Ambush
Dir. Yassmina Karajah
Special Mention
Passport Wedding
Dir. Abdallah Al-Ziadi (Jor)
Audience Award
Cleanse The Streets
Dir. Aysha Shahaltough (Jor)
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