Dima Hamdan wins the prestigious Iris Prize for Blood Like Water

Louisa Connolly-Burnham has taken the Best British Short award sponsored by Film4 and Pinewood Studios for her film Sister Wives.

Dima Hamdan is a Palestinian filmmaker and journalist based in Berlin. As a self-taught filmmaker, she directed several short films in the UK, Jordan, Germany and Palestine. Her previous short film, The Bomb (Germany, 2019), won the “Best Female Director” award at the Ayodhya Film Festival in India.

Dima’s film, Blood Like Water, tells the story of Shadi who embarks on a secret adventure, and accidentally drags his family into a trap where they only have two choices; either collaborate with the Israeli occupation, or be shamed and humiliated by their own people.

Dima said: “I am deeply honoured to receive the 2024 Iris Film Prize, not only because it is the 'Oscars' of the LGBTQ+ short film world, but also because it comes from a community that has increasingly voiced its support for Palestine in recent years. Every year at Gay Pride, I am profoundly moved by the sight of LGBTQ+ activists chanting for the liberation of Palestine, refusing to allow the Israeli occupation to be pinkwashed, and educating their peers - reminding them that there is no pride on the streets of Tel Aviv when vulnerable gay Palestinian men are blackmailed, violated, coerced into betraying their communities, and even killed. Today, there is no pride when an Israeli soldier, clad in full military gear, waves the rainbow flag over the ruins of our people’s homes in Gaza.

“The ongoing genocide in Gaza casts a dark shadow over everything we do. It is difficult to celebrate personal achievements when the most televised and live-streamed war in human history has dragged on for one year with no end in sight. “In order to survive these dark times, I find strength by envisioning a future when all of this will be over. In that vision, I take solace knowing that the Iris Film Prize, its wonderful team, and the jury will hold a special place in my heart for standing with us and helping to amplify our voices. “My most heartfelt ‘thank you’.”

Speaking for the International Jury, chair Adam Price said: “For its amazing acting and direction and minimal set, we have the feeling that this film was made from an urgency in the moment, to remind us that the world is also full of queer Arabs with parents that love them. A timely film and an important reminder that queer people exist everywhere, including in Palestine at a time of war and occupation. We the jury award Blood Like Water directed by Dima Hamdan the 2024 Iris Prize. “Special mention goes to Love, Jamie, by Karla Murthy (USA), a moving celebration of queer survival, an unforgettable portrait of the power of art and friendship to transcend even the bleakest confines. “And a special mention also goes to Boys in the Water Pawel Thomas Larue (France) for its sensitive exploration of trans identity and the complexities of self-acceptance in its evocative portrayal of one transformative summer.”

Louisa Connolly-Burnham is an award-winning director and screenwriter from Birmingham who founded the production company Thimble Films in 2019. In January 2024 Louisa wrapped principal photography on Sister Wives, a short she wrote, directed, produced and starred in alongside BAFTA-winner Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex).

Sister Wives is a multi-layered love story that tells the tale of young women living in a strict, fundamentalist, polygamous society in 2003 Utah, USA. Kaidence and Galilee find themselves bound to one another, under the same roof, in the same marriage, as they develop scary, new, exciting feelings for each other.

Tim Highsted is the Chair of the jury for the Iris Prize Best British Short: “The jury awards the Best British Short prize to Louisa Connolly-Burnham’s beautifully nuanced and performed drama about two women rebelling against their community’s social and religious constraints and finding love for each other. “Special mentions go to Peter Darney’s tenderly scripted and subtly directed moving drama G-Flat about an elderly gay stroke victim who hires a male sex worker with a winning performance from Richard Wilson and the powerful and chilling drama about the homophobic murder of Declan Flynn in Dublin in 1982, Fairview Park, directed by Aymeric Nicolet and Ellie Hodgetts.”

Channel 4 will be streaming all 15 shortlisted Best British Shorts films for a full year following the festival. Sister Wives, and the other shorts in the Family Dynamics programme will be available late Saturday night at 02.35. All the Iris individual British shorts and the three programmes they are in will also be released on Channel 4 streaming.

Berwyn Rowlands, Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival Director said: "I'm very proud that Iris is able to share stories not necessarily covered by the mainstream. This year the filmmakers have focused on the more serious aspect of LGBTQ+ life. Although many are dark there is still hope."

Lee Walters, CEO of Ffilm Cymru Wales said: “Congratulations to all the nominees and winners at this year’s Iris Prize. As proud funders of the film festival, we are pleased to see all these fantastic LGBTQ+ stories on the big screen, especially the wonderful Welsh talent showcased this year, including Ila Mehrotra’s India’s 1st Best Trans Model Agency and short films Diomysus, Fisitor, G Flat and Sally Leapt Out of a Window Last Night. Llongyfarchiadau bawb!”