MAD Solutions will release the Oscars Shorts programme at Cinescape Cinema in Kuwait. The screenings of the Oscars Shorts programme will take place on Thursday, March 7. Furthermore, the programme is scheduled to screen at the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi in the UAE on April 7.

The Oscars Shorts programme includes five exceptional Arab short films that made it to the Oscars. The short films are AVE MARIA by Basil Khalil, Ayny by Ahmed Saleh, Nocturne in Black by Jimmy Keyrouz, The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf, and The Boy by Oualid Mouaness, and Baheya & Mahmoud by Zaid Abu Hamdan.

Oscars Shorts Programme

About AVE MARIA:

AVE MARIA is a 14-minute comedy that tells the story of an order of Palestinian nuns living in the middle of the West Bank wilderness. Their daily routine of silence and prayer is disrupted when a family of Israeli settlers breaks down right outside their convent, just as the Sabbath is beginning. The family need to get home but can't operate the phone, and the Nuns have taken a vow of silence. The film was nominated for an Oscar® for Live Action Short Film, and has been shown on over 400 screens across North America, as part of "The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016" program. The film took part in more than 130 international festivals, and won over 25 awards at many international film festivals.

About Ayny:

Based on true events, Ayny follows two young boys who run away from their mother's protection and slack line on the danger of war to play music with the instrument they always dreamt to own. The film won a Golden Oscar at the Student Academy Awards in Los Angeles, along with over 15 other awards.

About Nocturne in Black:

The film is inspired by an article about a Syrian young man who continues to play his piano under threat of persecution in the midst of his country's civil war and struggles to rebuild his piano after it is destroyed by terrorists. Nocturne in Black won the Gold Medal at the Student Academy Awards and was shortlisted for an Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short in 2017.


About The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf, and The Boy:

Set in a mountain village in Lebanon, two brothers use their dad's rifle behind his back, unaware of the dire consequences of their action. The film was shortlisted for the 89th Academy Awards' Best Live-Action Short Film in 2017. The film screened at more than 20 international film festivals.

About Baheya & Mahmoud:

The film tells the story of an aging married couple who have fallen into a monotonous lifestyle of bickering and making one another miserable. However, this changes one day when Mahmoud wakes up to find his wife Bahiya gone. Baheya & Mahmoud was Jordan's official submission to the Academy Awards for the Best Live-Action Short.