Great news: the short documentary 9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo won two international awards in one weekend! On Saturday 15 October, Issa Touma, Thomas Vroege and Floor van der Meulen had the honour to receive the Best Short Film Award at the British Film Institute Festival in London. On Sunday 16 October, 9 Days was rewarded with the Tribute award at the shnit International Short Film Festival in New York. 

The prestigious BFI award was presented to Issa by the Scottish film director and screenwriter John Maclean. Jury president and Academy-Award-winner Mat Kirkby said about 9 Days:

“When Syrian photographer Issa Touma decided to pick up his camera and film events from his window in Aleppo, he did not know whether he would be alive to finish the filming. Not only does his documentary show what one person, one camera and a restricted view of an alleyway can do to reveal something as complex, confusing, and terrifying as a civil war, but also it demonstrates the power of film to reach the wider world, and make those of us more fortunate re-assess the freedom we take for granted.”

On Sunday, Floor van der Meulen received the Tribute award for short film under 20 minutes at the shnit festival closing night in New York.

We’d like to congratulate Issa, Thomas, Floor and their team! We couldn’t be more proud that after a year, 9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo received three international awards and is already shown at more than 50 film festivals worldwide. We’re looking forward to the first upcoming festival at Thess International Short Film Festival, Greece (17 – 22 October, 2016), as part of the official selection.