Malmö – Maher Hashash
The fourth edition of the Malmö Palestinian Film Festival concluded on Sunday evening at the Cinema Panora in Malmö, Sweden. Following three days of film screenings and discussions—which drew a large audience—the festival wrapped up with a screening of the closing film, *The Long Night*, directed by Hatem Ali.
The closing ceremony featured the announcement of the winners for both the narrative and documentary competitions, alongside the honoring of the jury members for their efforts in evaluating the participating films and selecting the winning works.
In the narrative competition, the first prize was awarded to the film *They Will Become Butterflies* (*Si saranno farfalle*), directed by Italian filmmaker Enrico Frattaroli, while the second prize went to *The Covenant* (*Al-Ahed*), directed by Syrian filmmaker Samouel Sakhia. Additionally, special jury prizes were presented to Ibrahim Al-Nawabneh for his performance in the film *Hide and Seek* (*Ghumaydah*), directed by Tala Abu Ni’meh, and to young actor Elias Al-Quraishi for his role in the film *The Hand of the Creator*, directed by Gloria Najim.
In the documentary competition, the award for Best Feature Documentary went to *Gaza: The Voice of Life and Death*, directed by Hossam Abu Dan. Special jury prizes were awarded to *Heavier Than Life*, directed by Mustafa Al-Nabih, and *An Unwanted Palestinian*, directed by Omar Shargawi. In the short documentary category, the film „Abu Jabal,” directed by Bisan Owda, won the award for Best Film, while the film „Exception,” directed by Ezz El-Din Shalah, received the Special Jury Prize.
The documentary film jury was chaired by Dr. Margo Haddad, with director Maher Hashash and Polish critic Ola Salwa serving as members.
The jury for narrative (fiction) films was chaired by Kamal Abdel Aziz, with directors Salah Al-Hourani and Fajr Yaqoub, artist Karim Rashid, and Swedish actress Josefin Asamoah serving as members.
In his address during the closing ceremony, festival president Yahya Abu Watfa expressed his gratitude to the organizing teams, volunteers, partners, supporters, guests, filmmakers, jury members, and the audience. He reaffirmed a commitment to continue supporting Palestinian and Arab cinema, and to further strengthening its presence in future editions.
The conclusion of the fourth edition underscored the importance of the festival as a cultural space that enables Palestinian films to reach audiences in Sweden, while offering filmmakers a platform to showcase their cinematic works and experiences—works that encompass Palestinian stories, collective memory, and human experiences.
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