The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has revealed the 2018 nominations which include one Arab film; A Drowning Man by director Mahdi Fleifel. The film is nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film competing with other four films. The winners will be announced within the awards ceremony that will be held on Sunday, the 18th of February.

Landing its Arab world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) A Drowning Man won the Best Muhr Short Film award. The award qualifies the film for consideration for the 2019 Academy Awards for Best Live Action Short Film.

A Drowning Man 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.

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. It 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.

It is worth mentioning the Jordanian director Naji Abu Nowar's film Theeb is the last Arab BAFTA awardedfilmas it receivedthe BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by A British Director. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a world-leading independent arts charity and one the most important film awards around the world that is held annually honoring creative works in film, TV and animation.