In addition to being “the ‘Oscars’ of the LGBTQ+ short film world,” Dima Hamdan stated she was “deeply honoured” to win the £30,000 2024 Iris Prize since “it comes from a community that has increasingly voiced its support for Palestine in recent years.”
Blood Like Water was described as “an important reminder that queer people exist everywhere, including in Palestine at a time of war and occupation” by Adam Price, the former leader of Plaid Cymru and the chair of the international jury.
At the Cardiff-based festival, Louisa Connolly-Burnham’s Sister Wives received Best British Short.
Based in Berlin, Hamdan is a self-taught journalist and filmmaker.
The festival claims that the film narrates the tale of Shadi, who sets out on a clandestine journey and unintentionally leads his family into a predicament where they are forced to choose between working with the Israeli occupation or being embarrassed and ridiculed by their own people.
“It is hard to celebrate personal accomplishments when the most televised and live-streamed war in human history has dragged on for one year with no end in sight,” Hamdan remarked in response to receiving the medal.
