Director Mahdi Fleifel's film A Drowning Man received a Special Mention at the third edition of the Gabes Film Festival in Tunisia. This marks the film's second honoring during the month of April, since receiving a Special Mention at the 20th Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts. A Drowning Man was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film.

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 Alkhateeb, Rebih El-Saleous, and Thymios Koukios. A co-production between Denmark, UK and Greece, the film is produced by Final Cut for Real, Nakba Film Works, and distributed by MAD Solutions in the Arab world, while Salaud Morisset is handling the film's world sales.

Landing its Arab world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), A Drowning Man won the Best Muhr Short Film award. The film was the only Arab participation in the Short Films Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It also took part in the Short Cuts Competition at the Toronto International Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, and Odense International Film Festival. A Drowning Man won the Silver Spike Award (Best Short Film) at the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain.