A graduate of the Department of Arabic Language and Media at the Arab American University, Amna Abu Arra, won the Jury Prize at the Cedars International Short Film Festival in the cities of Ifrane and Azrou in Morocco, for the documentary film “The Red Khan” (Al-Khan Al-Ahmar), amid Arab, African and Western competition. This festival comes under the slogan “Multi-nationalism and Variation.” at its 24th session.
The movie "Al-Khan Al-Ahmar" was directed by Abu Arra, where the State of Palestine was represented in the festival, under the supervision of the lecturer in the Department of Arabic Language and Media at the university, Mr. Sudqi Mousa.
The movie Director Abu Arra, who also works as an Arabic language teacher, said that the film talks about childhood life in a village threatened with disappearance and displacement. It also talks about the symbolism of the school, which represents a ray of hope for children who lack many things that are available to other children in the world, noting that the population of Al-Khan Al-Ahmar is approximately 200 Palestinians, more than half of them are children.
In his turn, Mr. Sudqi Mousa, a member of the jury for documentaries, said that Palestinian films, especially those talking about Palestine are witnessing a remarkable presence in international festivals, and have received praise from the audience and the arbitration committees. He indicated that Palestinian films such as "Al-Khan Al-Ahmar" present different aspects of the Palestinian case and carries a message to the world that we are a people who love life.
Abu Arra and Mousa previously won the first prize in the "Afrabia" competition for Arab youth - the category of films, for the movie "Arba’a".