A Drowning Man

Mahdi Fleifel's latest short is an powerful description of the what it means to survive as a refugee in a foreign country. Great actors, strong script and incredible cinematography. Highly recommended!!!

A story with powerfull characters and realistic performance. Mahdi Fleifel , is able to create such a nostalgic, engrossing story like never before. A great and dedicated Director with potential to make you wish to see more of his films!

Even though the story focuses in Athenas - Greece, this short reflects the sadly situation of refugees in general. It captivates you from the beginning and it makes empathize with the protagonist, in his situation and desperate way to survive. The way the cinematographic language is used, makes you feel the intensity of this conflict, but also it allows you to know him on a deeper level without having to say anything, or learning about him through any specific dialogues. It is completely visual, and we don't need anymore information further than these pure images. That's the way that truly cinema is really done, with a little spice of reality shown to makes us feel, and think about this problems that matters and are still present all over the world. So, without saying any further, we are thrill to having this short soon in Latin's America most important short festival: SHORTS MÉXICO. 10/10

This is one of the best angles I've seen on the global refugee crisis. Watch it, it's 15 minutes but its impact is stronger than many feature length films.

A quiet, introspective short about the daily life of a young Palestinian man's struggle to make it through daily life as a refugee in Athens.

Far more is conveyed to us through what isn't said, and what isn't shown directly, than what is seen or told through dialogue. The musical cues, environmental sounds, and quietness of each moment tells us far more than any spoken words could tell us without feeling unwieldy.

Though it's 7 years old at the time of this review, it still feels more relevant then any sensationalised news story, and does a lot more to help humanise the struggle faced by refugees everywhere, not just in Athens and not just of Palestinian descent.