Our Comms Assistant wins award for short film about a young displaced woman

We always love sharing news of our staff’s personal achievements, and we’re so proud of our Comms Assistant Hidar, who recently won fourth place at the ‘Through Her Lens’ film festival in Erbil.

The festival was part of Cordaid’s Women Voices First initiative, in which a group of 15 comms experts, freelancers, directors and activists took part in a storytelling and visual communications training course in Lebanon.

As part of the programme, each participant was then required to make a short documentary, and Hidar decided to focus on a young displaced woman called Bushra – one of more than 60,000 people who have been supported by the Lotus Flower. Through one of our livelihoods projects, she was selected to receive a grant to start her own business, but in the end had to decline the opportunity so she could instead complete her academic studies. 

Hidar’s powerful film is called ‘Against All Odds,’ and tells the story of Bushra’s many challenges in life. Not only was she displaced during the ISIS attacks, but she also has dwarfism and has experienced severe bullying and ostracization in the community through the years.

Speaking about Bushra and what he learned while working alongside her, Hidar says: “She is unique, and was the first person in her village and school with dwarfism. Through my film, I wanted to highlight the story of an IDP with special needs, who has suffered from being ‘odd’ in her community.”

As you will see in the film below, Bushra speaks incredibly bravely about her past ordeals, and Hidar adds: “She once even heard people asking her mother to abandon her at Mount Sinjar when they were fleeing ISIS, because they thought she was too small to survive. Back then, she was 10 years-old and when she climbed the mountain, she was holding a bottle of water that was bigger than her.”

Hidar, right, receives his award

Reflecting on his own motivations that helped him shape the film, Hidar says: “I am personally inspired by the dedicated Lotus Flower team. Their support made all of this possible.”

Well done Hidar – and Bushra – for bringing such a beautiful piece of filmmaking to our screens…

You can watch it below…