The Nashville Film Festival announced the winners of the 2022 festival awards, in which Waheed Al-Qawasmi, the Jordanian-American director and writer, won for the first time the Best Film Award for his movie “Jasser” during the 53rd session of the festival. The film was well received at the festival.
Al-Qawasmi has previously directed short films and music videos. He has also produced more than 10 films, and written and directed short films such as “Swings” and “Scorned”.
The story of the film revolves around the story of the refugee “Jasser” (played by the Lebanese actor Malek Rahbani) in the streets of Memphis, Tennessee, a Syrian fleeing the city of Aleppo and trying to integrate into the American “ghetto”.
The 1 hour and 44 minute film is packed with performances, rap music, and a wide range of deep thoughts about what life is like as an immigrant in the United States.
The hero of the film faces the stark reality of chasing the American dream, where he finds himself alone, living in poverty without information about the traditions of the country in which he lives, and suffering from poor English, in a new life devoid of the ideal as he imagined before arriving in America.
Jacir finds a new friend “a cat” owned by his next door neighbor “Braco”, who was a blues singer but is now addicted to opiates, and spends her nights watching news that stirs hatred against refugees and blacks in America, in addition to a rapper who works with him in a restaurant, and through Their friendship, the author depicts how black Americans and immigrants struggle for acceptance and respect by American society.
The film festival, which is held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the oldest film festivals in the United States, and is a route to qualifying for the Academy Award for the categories of winning films, animation, and documentary, provided that the film complies with the rules of the Academy.