Palestinian director Mahdi Fleifel's short film A Drowning Man will be competing within the Official Competition at the second edition of the Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival (BMFF) that will take place from September 6 to 9 in Batroun City, Lebanon. The film will screen on Saturday, September 8 at 08:00 pm (GMT +3).

Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival (BMFF) is lively cultural event that is held in Batroun City with a selection of short films from the 21 Mediterranean Sea countries. The audience and filmmakers come along to share the mind-blowing artwork in an enchanting setting of the open-air unique screening venue; an environment that will generate enrichment for both, the local audience as well as international filmmakers. The festival consists of international and national competitions, professional workshops, seminars, special events, concerts and hangouts providing every art lover a great cinematic experience.

Most recently, the film took part in a number of prestigious film festivals including; Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival in Lebanon and Festival Ciné-Palestine (FCP) in Paris, France, in addition to receiving the Jurys'Special Mention at the Gabes Film Festival in Tunisia, and a Special Mention at the Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries andShorts in Egypt.

The film competed at the 2018 BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film, in addition, it won the Best Muhr Short Film award at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). The film made its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival as the only Arab participation in the Short Films competition.

A Drowning Man participated in the Toronto International Film Festival, within its Short Cuts competition, Melbourne International Film Festival and the Odense International Film Festival. The film won the Silver Spike Award for Best Short Film at the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain.

Alone and far from home, The Kid makes his way through a strange city looking for the means to get through his day. Surrounded by predators he is forced to make compromises merely to survive, his life of exile grows one day longer.

Written and directed by Mahdi Fleifel, A Drowning Man stars Atef Alshafei, Jalal Qaniry, Mounir Al khateeb, Rebih El-Saleous, and Thymios Koukios. The film is produced by Final Cut for Real, Nakba Film Works and distributed through the Arab world by MAD Solutions, while Salaud Morisset is handling the film's world sales.